Venture debt vs venture capital

Love, laughter and fireworks - the best way to describe a sometimes feisty discussion at our dinner for Chair/NEDs of tech scale ups. In partnership with Mishcon de Reya LLP, Bailey Fisher hosted a roundtable dinner for 20 guests, with Sonia Powar as our guest speaker, discussing the role venture debt vs venture capital can play in a company’s growth. A topic which evidently divides opinion on its value, timings of when to use and how to use it. This led into a wider debate on the funding available for companies within different asset classes and stages of growth, the positives and negatives of growing a technology company in the UK, the draw of US customers, investors and markets as well as the pitfalls. Discussion was wide ranging, and we covered everything from the current challenges of raising capital, geopolitical instability and how the UK can better use its pension funds to invest in the science and technology sectors.
 
And amongst all of this, Sonia led a great discussion on the optimal use of venture debt, and how it can be used as a substitute for equity, especially within proven, repeatable revenue generating businesses, or to supplement growth alongside equity as new technology is rolled out.

We look forward to hosting further events in our Chair/NED series during 2024.