Epi-V appoints Investment Committee Chairman

Epi-V LLP has appointed Sue Hunter as its investment committee chairman.
Sue, who previously worked with 3i for 15 years, joins Epi-V’s six -strong team which invests between £2million and £10million in emerging technology and innovative service companies within the upstream oil and gas services sector.
She began her career with KPMG, before moving to 3i in 1987. After seven years as investment director of its Thames Valley office, Sue was later appointed Director of the London-based transaction team in 1999.

In addition to her mid-market private equity expertise, Sue brings a wealth of experience investing in early and mid-stage businesses.
Sue will now head up Epi-V’s investment committee, which includes five Epi-V partners who collectively have over 80 years experience in the oil and gas services sector.
Epi-V was launched in September 2007 with £50million of funds from LDC.  It invests in businesses developing ‘disruptive’ technologies which have the potential to revolutionise existing processes and which will have significant future value to international oil and gas operations.
Epi-V completed its first deal last year, investing £3 million for a 42 per cent stake in Aberdeen-based Brinker Technology.
Brinker uses a unique and patented particle-based technology to remotely locate and seal leaks in oil and gas production and pipeline infrastructure.

Commenting on her appointment, Sue said: “The world’s rising energy needs are putting the oil and gas industry under pressure to increase production and support demand until alternative sources of power come fully online.
“New, disruptive technology will play a crucial role in meeting this challenge by providing economically viable means of recovering hard to reach or ‘post-peak’ oil.
“Drawing from an extensive track record of entrepreneurial successes in the sector, the Epi-V partners work with management teams using a unique value creation methodology.
“In addition to the necessary funding, a key strength is the team’s ability to draw on a deep pool of market knowledge and understanding to provide the best outcome for any situation.
“The dynamic of the personalities and their varied experiences provides a vibrant and exciting working environment, one which aspiring management teams can fully relate to and benefit from.
“The fund is helping to bridge an emerging equity gap in the £2million and £10million range and provides management teams with the experience, contacts and capital required to scale up their businesses.
“Epi-V is rare, if not unique, as it’s a venture capital investor with a huge wealth of sector expertise and the empathy that only comes with having experienced life as both an investor and an investee.
“With my broad transactional understanding I’ll be able to challenge existing assumptions and draw on relevant experiences from across a wide range of sectors.”
Sue is a former Trustee of NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts), and was a member of the ‘Finance & Audit’ and ‘Invention & Innovation’ committees.
The NESTA Endowment was the first in the UK and invested £500million in very early stage opportunities in the fields of science, technology and the arts.
She is also non-executive director of Foursome Investments, an investment management business specialising in Cleantech, early and growth stage venture capital and private equity investments.
Since its inception in 1998, Foursome has focused on backing innovative early stage businesses. As well as being on the board, Sue oversees the funds’ finances and is a member of its investment committee.