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SYIF Equity Linked Investments Team
Capital/Development Funds £100k to £2.5m

David Best, Investment Managing Director, has over 20 years venture capital and M&A experience. He joined the Fund from Peterhouse Group plc, a FTSE 500 business, where he was Group Finance Director, prior to which he was at Bridgepoint Capital. David is a Chartered Accountant, qualifying with Arthur Andersen in Leeds.

Mary is the Investment Director responsible for the investment team in South Yorkshire. After graduating with a degree in Business Studies, Mary worked in the manufacturing sector, where she qualified as an accountant. She moved into the venture capital industry in 1991, spending 10 years with UK Steel Enterprise before joining the YFM Group in 2001, where she has worked on several funds investing in SMEs.

Nigel, Portfolio Manager, has 18 years of experience of growing businesses. He joined YFM Group from Grant Thornton in Sheffield, where he worked in corporate finance. Prior to that he spent five years with Deloitte in London as a senior manager in restructuring and turnaround, working with businesses to both improve their operations and arrange finance. He holds both an MBA from Cranfield and a BSc(Eng).

Debbie, Portfolio Manager has 20 years experience of working with SME businesses. She joined SYIF from 3i plc, where she worked as a portfolio executive for eleven years. Prior to that she spent 9 years in audit and accounts for a large regional independent accountancy firm. Debbie has recently completed an MBA with a distinction from The University of Nottingham.

Chris, Investment Manager, is a specialist in technology investment having originally been one of the founders of far blue; an early stage technology fund. Chris’ last role was as a director at Tower Gate Capital Ltd, where he managed private and public investments focusing on the technology, media and telecoms sectors. As well as looking after equity investments he will be working with the Seedcorn Fund that will invest in early stage technology and knowledge-based businesses in South Yorkshire.

Ian Waterfield, 34, joins SYIF from the YFM Group in Leeds, where he worked as investment manager for their Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund, investing in businesses across the region. Prior to this, Ian spent 12 years with KPMG, Europe’s largest integrated accounting firm, where he qualified as a chartered accountant and went on to become an Associate Director in their Transaction Services division.



