About Avonmore
We are Avonmore Developments, founded in 2000 by brothers Simon and Michael Blakey, two of the UK’s earliest professional angel investors. Our mission is to help founder-led, high-growth UK businesses thrive from first cheque to scale.
Since launch, we have backed more than 50 companies in over 100 early rounds and have actively shaped the UK seed ecosystem through speaking, mentoring and investor education.
We typically lead or participate in pre-seed or seed investments of £50,000 to £200,000, often working alongside co-investors, family offices and VC funds.
Our Story
Simon and Michael were inspired by the emerging angel scene in the US around 2000 and recognised a gap in the UK, namely a shortage of experienced, founder-focused capital. They created Avonmore to change that, bringing not just money but meaningful support and long-term partnership.
Over two decades later, we remain deeply involved in the ecosystem, helping structure early-stage deals, mentoring founders, and contributing to the growth of the UK’s tech and venture landscape.
How to Connect
If you’re raising pre-seed or seed funding and want experienced, supportive capital behind you, we’d love to hear from you via the contact button below.
“Simon was instrumental to the founding of Ventrata back in December 2016 and guided me every step of the way to 100+ people and $10M+ ARR business that we are today, and probably by the time you’re reading this much larger still. Simon is humble, wise and just an incredibly good guy to his core. We wouldn’t be where we are without him, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to work with him on the board of Ventrata all these years.”
Simon Blakey
Simon is in charge of Avonmore’s UK operations, deal negotiations and ongoing management.
He founded Avonmore following several years working at Sainsbury's, and then as a management consultant specialising in financial services start-up projects. Simon is originally a biochemist and management accountant by training. As well as being on the board of several of Avonmore’s portfolio companies, he is on the board of Cambridge Angels, Chairs the Investment Committee at Playfair Capital and is on the Investment Committee of the government-backed £100m Angel Co-fund.
As well has his business interests, Simon is on the management board of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, where he chairs the finance subcommittee and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
Michael Blakey
Michael is now based in Singapore where he now runs Cocoon Capital, a $30M seed-stage fund investing across South-East Asia. Michael was awarded 2015 Angel Investor of the Year by the British Business Angel Association and was picked for the UK’s 2016 Maserati 100.
Michael began his career at Sainsbury’s, specialising in Human Resources and IT and then joined Avonmore in 2002. He spends a considerable amount of his time mentoring entrepreneurs, engaging with other business angels, family offices and VCs, and speaks extensively about early stage investing in UK and Asian markets.
“Simon has been on our cap table from Day 1 and has been nothing short of phenomenal. Always available & responsive when needed, but also very understanding when things aren’t going according to plan.
He has made plenty of impactful intros along the way and was happy to lean in during our latest fundraise process with institutional investors, digging into docs and providing valuable feedback.
Highly recommend working with him & having his backing!”