About us

Fuelling the next generation of enterprise with investor capital

Capitalex is an equity investment ecosystem created by experienced investors that provides companies, advisers and investors with access to the knowledge and networks needed to make a success of equity funding

Our objective

Improve the allocation of equity capital to better reflect the spectrum of opportunity presented by UK SMEs

While entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries in their respective fields, the investment industry has changed very little in decades. A lack of transparency and an over-reliance on personal networks has resulted in imbalanced portfolios, concentration of capital into fewer opportunities and lower alpha. By democratising access to the network and sharing our knowledge as investors, we hope to address this imbalance and ensure that investor capital reaches companies that deliver the greatest value to shareholders, the economy and society

Our Team

Jessica Zoutsos

Founder and CEO

Before founding Capitalex, Jessica was part of the investment team that set up Business Growth Fund - today the UK's most active SME investor. Prior to BGF, Jessica was a geotechnical engineer with Atkins and an investment banker within the UK M&A team at Goldman Sachs. She has invested over £80m in high-growth SMEs and sat on the Boards of companies across technology, leisure, real estate, law, engineering and business services. She currently serves as a Non Executive Director and advisor to a number of SME boards and funds, and was named in the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist 2021

Richard Bishop

Non Executive

Richard has 25 years of experience investing in and supporting entrepreneurial, high growth businesses. His career ranges from leading teams as a Partner in 3i Growth Capital to launching BGF as Head of Investments. He now continues this passion for growth companies as a Chairman of and advisor for both Private Equity backed and independent businesses and also as an angel investor

Tom Bottomley

Strategic Consultant

Tom has spent 30 years within finance, sales and M&A, including 8 years at PwC, where he project managed leveraged buyouts for private equity. Tom has twice been a director of venture capital backed start-ups and spent eleven years as finance director of a Yorkshire SME, where he became CEO. He was most recently Commercial Director of a global strategy consulting firm, focused on European private equity. Tom holds several non-executive directorships and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants

Indy Goraya

Head of Partnerships

Having qualified as a chartered accountant at PwC, Indy has experience working as a corporate finance advisor, growth capital investor and has held numerous board positions with a specific focus on UK SME’s. He has worked across organisations such as PwC, Deloitte, Spectrum Corporate Finance and BGF and has built up a strong network in the advisory and investment community. Since leaving BGF, Indy has gone on to set up numerous ventures of his own and is also a retained mentor to start up businesses at Bruntswood, a Birmingham based incubator

Capitalex Investment Partners

Our team of Investment Partners support our members in achieving their objectives through equity capital. Our partner pool is made up of current and former venture capital, growth capital and private equity investors, based across the UK and with experience across all sectors

Collectively our team has invested hundreds of millions into UK SMEs, and worked extensively with startups and established businesses in raising equity funding and delivering shareholder value, including through M&A and exits. We are passionate about helping small and medium sized businesses to thrive