David James Edmonds

Areas of expertise: Access to finance and funding; financial planning and strategies; achieving investment readiness and pitching for investment; refining product / process potential; product and process differentiation.

Qualifications: In addition to his experience and qualifications in banking, David has an MBA from the Open University Business School.

Current business support activities: As Managing Director and Fund Manager with Advantage Creative www.advantagecreative.co.uk which includes the Advantage Creative Fund (ACF) a venture capital fund for the creative industries, David provides business support , mentoring and advice to investee companies in the Fund’s portfolio.

Background: David’s first career, was 34 years with HSBC Bank where latterly he specialised in Corporate Finance and became an Area Manager. He completed an MBA with the Open Business School in 1996 which included a secondment to a project team at Waterford Wedgwood, followed after graduating, by various HSBC Head Office business improvement projects. In 2001 he became the Managing Director of a £3.5m t/o manufacturing company where he led a Management Buy Out team, and in early 2002 he became the Interim Managing Director of Maverick Television Ltd. In April 2003, David was appointed as the Managing Director and Fund Manager of ACF. Like many businesses in the Creative Industries, ACF was a start-up business and it was pioneering within the venture capital sector by being operated in as virtual a format as possible. David’s own entrepreneurial skills have been tested and demonstrated through his work in growing the Fund as a successful evergreen finance house to support the creative industries in the West Midlands. David has also provided management and consultancy services to business owners through his own enterprise, Bisco Business Services since 2010.

Always watch the cash - it's the life blood of the business