Company
Team Management
The principals of Chord Capital are John Townsend and David Farmer. Both have extensive operational management experience as well as strong financial backgrounds. This experience is reflected in successful careers in the investment business.
John and David have been joined by two venture partners who will have a particular focus on the Technology Accelerator Fund: Owen Sennitt, who has twenty years experience as an equity investor and corporate finance advisor; and Peter Osborn, a successful entrepreneur and business adviser.
John Townsend
John is a director of portfolio companies Atraverda Ltd, Metalysis Ltd and Prosurgics Ltd. He is also the chairman of CIP Technologies Ltd, a photonics manufacturer.
John started his career as a financial analyst with broker Hoare Govett, covering the pharmaceutical industry. He subsequently moved on to investment and management roles in the investment industry. As a director of Warburg Investment Management (which became Mercury Asset Management plc), he turned round the US business, and then at Citibank Global Asset Management he again rebuilt an orphaned investment business within a bank. As a founder of Sagitta Asset Management Ltd, John led this wealth management start-up into alternative investments in the mid 1990s, namely private equity and hedge funds. Having exited Sagitta in 2000, John became CEO of Vesta Capital Partners, a venture firm focussed on financial services technology.
John received a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Manchester and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
David Farmer
David works with portfolio companies ImmunoBiology and Sensortec, and leads the management of the investments made by the Cascade Fund. He is responsible for the compliance and finance functions of Chord Capital, and is involved in portfolio management, valuation and deal structuring activities. His responsibilities also include financial modelling, client reporting and cash management.
David joined Sagentia Group in 1988 as group financial controller, providing financial and legal advice during the company’s early period of rapid growth. Notably David has been closely involved in the preparation and review of business plans and the development of accounting and cash management systems for spin-out companies. Prior to joining Sagentia, David qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, before joining the Thomas Cook Group where he became Vice Treasurer. He obtained a first-class honours degree in Mathematics from the University of Nottingham.
Owen Sennitt
Owen will concentrate on the Technology Accelerator Fund. He has over twenty years experience as an equity investor and corporate finance advisor with 3i, Wales Fund Managers, Deloitte Corporate Finance and Bank of Scotland. At 3i, Owen was an investment director in the Bristol office where he managed over 25 investments, ranging in size from a £150k food manufacturing start-up to a £75m airline MBO. At Wales Fund Managers Owen was responsible for 12 investments including Atraverda Ltd, where he worked alongside Chord Capital.
Owen sat on the Boards of various investments of Wales Fund Managers including Excelerate Technology and Nightingale Care Beds. At Bank of Scotland he was a director in Integrated Finance where he led the investments into Charterhouse Print Management and Quartix.
Owen holds a BSc (Hons) from Loughborough University in Economics and Accountancy, and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Peter Osborn
Peter will concentrate on the Technology Accelerator Fund. Peter is a successful entrepreneur who built his own business, Redwood International Ltd, from start-up to $50m in international sales, and through to a subsequent trade sale.
Peter has extensive experience working with young companies, as an entrepreneur, venture investor and interim manager. He is a “hands-on” business advisor with particular strengths in growth management and senior management support both at Board level and in quasi or interim executive roles.
Peter is Chairman of Journey Dynamics Ltd, recognised as one of the main players in the navigation information sector. He is also an adviser to and non-executive director of Brunel University Enterprises Ltd.
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