Alan founded Clarendon to run a £10m venture capital fund, investing in innovative companies in Northern Ireland, building the firm from a small founding team. He led Clarendon for 15 years and then continued as Chairman of its Investment Committee. Today Clarendon manages £150m of funds, has helped over 150 companies raise more than half a billion pounds of investment, and has had a transformational impact on the technology and venture capital industry in the region. Along the way he helped establish another fund manager, Whiterock, and created and shaped the careers of more than 20 people in the industry.
Alan will be remembered as one of the founding fathers of the venture capital industry in Belfast. Many owe their skills and values to him, and the job and wealth creation that followed was substantial, with thousands of jobs created and leading-edge technologies developed. He was much admired and respected by everyone at Clarendon, and his impact extended to many more people across government, professional bodies and other industries. All remember Alan as a true gentleman, accepted as “one of our own” in Northern Ireland, and considered a friend by many.
On first meeting, Alan came across as a posh Londoner with a shock of white hair, bristling with energy, both engaging and articulate. Twenty-five years ago it was unusual for an Englishman to spend all his time in Northern Ireland, but once people got to know him he was accepted as a friend irrespective of age, background or political preferences. He knew more about the history of Northern Ireland than most locals, and even helped get some of the Salters’ history in NI included in a published history book.
In the days before ChatGPT, Alan was a living version of it, correcting and improving everyone’s work with an eye for detail and an extensive knowledge of all things scientific. His feedback was always thoughtful and constructive, because he was genuinely interested in helping people develop and grow.
For all his chateau in France and his Bentley, Alan was at heart, as he put it himself, a Yorkshire farmer with “deep pockets and short arms”. When he stayed in Belfast it was in the same modest hotel for years, having negotiated a friends-and-family rate, and he was a remarkably early advocate of preventing food waste. Beneath the thrift was a warmth that made him part of the family wherever he went.
Above all, Alan was a gentleman and an entrepreneur at heart, who loved to learn new things, meet new people and, as we say in Belfast, have a bit of craic along the way. He will be sadly missed by all of us at Clarendon, and fondly remembered, both for the person he was and the legacy he leaves behind.
Armagh-based, female-founded tech start-up, Needi, has raised just under £900,000 in a new funding round. Pictured are Needi’s co-founder Louise Doyle (right), with British Business Bank senior investment manager Sue Barnard (left) and Claudine Owens from Clarendon Fund Managers.
Clarendon Fund Managers is delighted to continue its support of TeamFeePay, following the company’s successful securing of new investment to accelerate growth across the UK and expand into European markets.