Gita Patel, Director of Stargate Capital Management, today announced the launch of 'Trapezia', the first UK-based investment fund dedicated to Women Focused Businesses. The pioneering £30 million fund seeks to capitalise on the funding gap for women entrepreneurs. "It is our belief that these companies, which often have difficulty raising money through traditional channels, will when properly supported and capitalised, provide a superior return to investors" said Gita.

It is estimated by the SBS that women represent around 27% of self employed people in the UK. However, only 15% of businesses are majority owned by women compared to 30% in the USA. Currently Britain has 700,000 women's businesses that are responsible for revenues of £130bn. "At a cultural level, the potential of women-based businesses is poorly recognised and valued and through Trapezia we will bring a fresh dynamic to women entrepreneurship in the UK" added Patel.

The under representation of women in entrepreneurial activities in the UK is well established but the lack of business data disaggregated by gender means that research is difficult. However, research does consistently recognise specific issues which can make the problems of starting or growing a business more challenging for women than men.

Primary challenges include access to capital, access to markets, access to training and technical assistance as well as access to business networks. There is therefore a need for more funding with appropriate mentoring being made available to women entrepreneurs. "I passionately believe that good entrepreneurial opportunities should not go unfunded. If gender made no difference, it would cease to be an issue. However, there are many women influenced businesses that represent a strong investment opportunities that are currently being under-served by conventional sources of funding."

"Through Trapezia I want to mobilize women investors so that their 'pound' gains visibility in backing high growth companies where women make an influencing contribution."

Internationally, the UK has to catch up with the rest of the world. In the US, the number of women owned firms are growing at twice the underlying rate for all US firms. The UK's investment in early stage businesses as a proportion of GDP is less than half that in the US and less than a third of that in Canada.

Trapezia aims to:

• create innovative financial products that enable women and women friendly investors to prudently share in the potentially high returns from supporting women focused businesses
• build a reputation amongst the IFA community as a professional company supplying tax-efficient products that are well differentiated, easy to sell and have competitive commission levels
• provide fair equity solutions for early stage businesses, in which women have a major influence, complemented as appropriate by added value in the form of mentoring, management support and access to the markets and business networks of the Trapezia group.

To assist in the selection, mentoring and support of investee companies, the Trapezia fund has recruited a strong investment advisory panel composed of Dr Elizabeth Nelson OBE (Founder of Taylor Nelson Sofres plc)., Fiona Price (founder of Fiona Price & Partners, a firm of Independent Financial Advisers to women), Clare Logie (Director, Women in Business at The Bank of Scotland); Linda Richardson (Managing Partner, Morley Scott Accounting) and entrepreneurs David Kraftman, Denise McAdam and Denise Walker.

THE TRAPEZIA FUND

The minimum investment in the fund is £10,000 and the target fund size is £30million, which will enable over £8million of investments in Women-focussed businesses. Trapezia provides various tax advantages of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, including gains free from UK Capital Gains Tax. The product is structured such that, on the basis pf certain assumptions, a UK high rate tax payer has 90% of their capital protected over a five year period.

ABOUT GITA PATEL

Gita Patel Bsc (Econ) FCA - Director, Stargate Capital Management Ltd

Gita is a graduate of the London School of Economics and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen prior to joining Gulf Oil. Gita was with the NatWest Group for fifteen years where she held a number of senior management positions. Gita is also an active business angel investor, a mentor to boards of early stage companies and has seeded a number of ventures. She has also spent considerable time advising women entrepreneurs and helping them access capital, markets and business networks. Gita is a founding investor of Stargate.

ABOUT STARGATE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Founded in 2004, by Paresh Shah and Stephan Gagnon as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stargate Capital Investment Group, Stargate Capital Management creates innovative financial products that enable a broad base of investors to benefit from a risk mitigated exposure to the potentially high capital growth and returns of exciting markets. Trapezia is the company's second fund following the launch in June 2005 of the MagicGate capital protected film fund. Stargate Capital Management Ltd is a firm authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

For further information visit www.trapeziacapital.co.uk