GC Angels and Bruntwood SciTech bring 70 early-stage companies and 40 investors to Nexus Leeds for the second Early Stage Northern Showcase, with founders pitching and investors pitching back

More than 70 early-stage companies from across the North of England were showcased to over 40 investors at Nexus Leeds yesterday, as GC Angels and Bruntwood SciTech hosted the second Early Stage Northern Showcase. Leeds Today was at the event, which was supported by NatWest, Leeds City Council, and angel investment platform ThatRound. With an unusual element, investors pitched to founders as well as the other way around explaining who they are and what they are looking for. Investors from across the UK made the trip to Nexus, including representatives from Mercia Ventures, Northern Gritstone, Creative UK, the Cancer Research Fund, and the British Business Bank.

Why This Matters For Leeds
This event matters for Leeds because it directly addresses the funding gap holding back northern founders. Events like this create that gateway. For Leeds founders, having 40 investors in one room including Northern Gritstone, Mercia, and the British Business Bank removes the assumption that you need to go to London to raise capital.

What Happened at Nexus Leeds

The day began with an investor lunch and a female investor panel chaired by Ranvir Singh of GC Angels, featuring investors from PXN Ventures, Gateway Angels, Mercia Ventures, and Digital Health Associates discussing how female investors assess female founders. The main event opened with welcome addresses from Marc Shirman of GC Angels, Gareth Scargill of Nexus, and Katherine Megson of Bruntwood SciTech. Keynote speaker Mandy Ridyard, managing director of ASG Aerospace and business adviser to the Mayor of West Yorkshire, delivered a compelling case for the North as an accelerating investment destination. She highlighted that Leeds is home to more scale-ups than any other city, is the biggest place for manufacturing jobs, and is attracting global confidence. Her message to founders was direct: you do not need to leave to raise funding.

“What’s difficult for investors from London sometimes when they come into the North is there’s no one gateway. That’s what we wanted to try and give them. There is a hell of a lot of innovation in the North — and there is money there if you can get your organisation right.”

— Ranvir Singh, Senior Investment Manager, GC Angels — speaking to Leeds Today at Nexus

Investors Pitch to Founders

The afternoon’s standout session was the investor reverse pitches, where 13 investors took the stage to explain their investment thesis, ticket sizes, and what they look for in founders. The lineup included Eve Howarth from Northern Gritstone, Eve Myers from Mercia Ventures, Haadi Sheikh from Creative UK, Gregor Lawrence from Cancer Research Fund, and Harrison Faul from Aligned Syndicate. A founder panel chaired by ThatRound’s Bradley Jones featured five founders sharing the pitfalls of their early-stage investment journeys. The energy from the founders was inspiring, with candid stories of the challenges they faced raising capital. Ranvir Singh told Leeds Today that the ecosystem is changing: it’s no longer about a pitch deck and a prayer. Founders need their ducks in order, but if they do, the money is there. The full interview with Ranvir Singh is available on the Leeds Today YouTube channel. The next opportunity for Leeds founders to meet investors at scale is Climb26, returning to the Royal Armouries and Nexus Leeds on 1 and 2 July.