Overview
The Invest South West Forum & Reception is part of a series of policy engagement events looking at driving investment in the nations and regions of the UK and will provide an opportunity to engage with policy makers, investors from leading private equity and venture capital firms, local institutional investors and portfolio companies.
The forum will feature expert-led panel discussions alongside networking opportunities throughout the afternoon to connect with fellow leaders and stakeholders from across the industry. The event will conclude with a drinks reception.
The reception will feature the presentation of our Vision 2026 Awards for the South West, our annual initiative aimed at recognising the best business leaders within our members' portfolio companies.
Please note: Tickets are complimentary, but as space is limited, places must be confirmed by UK PrIvate Capital. Please register your interest using the online form.
Agenda
13:00 |
Registration and Lunch |
|
14:00 |
Welcome AddressJuliette Gerstein, Head of Public Affairs, UK Private Capital |
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14:10 |
KeynoteKarim Palant, Director of External Affairs, UK Private Capital |
|
14:20 |
Driving Regional Growth: Leadership, Infrastructure Planning & Investment Opportunities
|
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14:55 |
Vision Nominees Spotlight Session
|
|
15:05 |
Networking Break |
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15:35 |
Video messageHelen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority |
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15:40 |
Fireside Chat
|
|
15:55 |
Investing in the South West’s Tech Hub
|
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16:25 |
Vision 2026 Awards |
|
16:35 |
Closing RemarksNoreen Aldworth, Head of Commercial - Events, Learning and Development (Industry Development), UK Private Capital |
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16:40 |
Reception |
|
17:15 |
KeynoteDouglas Abbott, Chief Product Officer, Hargreaves Lansdown |
|
19:00 |
Event Close |
Speakers
Melanie Goward
Melanie joined Maven in September 2016 and manages the team transacting new early-stage and technology growth capital investments across the South and South West of England and Wales. She also sits on the investment committee and is based in our Bristol office. Prior to joining Maven, she was part of the Finance Wales Technology Ventures team and fund manager for the Wales Technology Seed Fund, providing funding to help businesses commercialise and bring to market innovative products and services across a range of sectors.
Prior to this she worked as an Investment Director with Nesta Investments, focusing on early stage healthcare investments as well as in technology sector finance at Lloyds TSB Corporate, providing debt finance to high-growth companies. With over 20 years’ experience as a specialist in early-stage investment, Melanie has completed a range of investments in technology, life science and biotechnology businesses.
Melanie has a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences, and a PhD in Genetics from Cambridge University, which included research as part of the Human Genome Project.
Michael Laycock
Awaiting speaker biography.
Rosie Bennett
Rosie Bennett is the Executive Director for SETsquared, an enterprise partnership of six universities (Bristol, Bath, Southampton, Cardiff, Exeter and Surrey) on a shared mission to turn world class research into world leading companies. She is an accomplished, pro-active entrepreneurial leader with a strong track record in innovation strategy, venture creation and scaling business operations. Previous roles include; start-up founder x 2, COO, business incubator lead and VC associate.
Rosie has a professional foundation in emerging technology having held senior positions in R&D at Liberty Global (UPC) and the BBC. She is passionate about fostering collaboration and championing technology innovation ecosystems, and is involved on a number of advisory boards as well as being a Non-Executive Director for EarSwitch Technologies.
Tom Riordan CBE
Tom Riordan CBE joined HM Treasury (HMT) in October 2025 as the Government’s Northern Growth Envoy. Since then, he has overseen the announcement of the most significant transformation to travel in the North for a generation through Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Prior to this appointment, Tom served as Second Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), leading work on the 10 Year Health Plan and adult social care, among other government priorities.
He was previously Chief Executive of Leeds City Council for 14 years, during which time he oversaw major regeneration of the city centre with 25,000 new homes built, and achieved outstanding rated children’s services, and a pioneering ‘Home First’ Adult Social Care programme.
Tom undertook a secondment to the national response to Covid in 2020, and, earlier in his career, served as Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward from 2005 to 2010, following international environmental work in the Department for Environment in the 1990s.
Sponsors & Supporters
Principal Sponsor
Associate Sponsor
Supporting Partner
Supporting Partner
Vision 2026 Headline Sponsor
Vision 2026 Supporting Sponsor
Date and Timings
Thursday, 18 June 2026
13:00-19:00
Location
Harbour Hotel Bristol
53 - 55 Corn Street
Bristol
BS1 1HT
Vision 2026 Awards
Vision 2026 celebrates the best teams backed by private equity and venture capital, awarding portfolio companies and their investors. The reception will feature the presentation of the Vision 2026 Awards for Wales & South West.
These annual awards consider growth, competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, and the challenges of the year, with a focus on the future, business sustainability as well as past performance.
Find out more about the awards here.
Dress Code
Business Attire
Privacy Information
Following the introduction of GDPR, UK Private Capital will continue to share attendance lists with sponsors and other attendees (names, job titles and company names only) with the exception of events of a sensitive nature.
Please contact our Events team if you would NOT be happy for us to share this personal information with other attendees. Our full Private Policy & Accessibility Statement can be viewed here.
Code of Conduct - Attendance at Events
UK Private Capital is committed to bringing members together in a professional environment to collaborate and network. We have established this code of conduct to provide guidelines to participants, and to ensure that all participants understand what behaviour is expected of them at our events.