Mr. Alex Hobbs:

Typically, during the seed and start-up phase, there is little mainstream bank lending. That has always been the case in my experience. Funding is mostly through equity investment, risk capital. This reflects the high risk profile. However, as companies begin to build up sales in the market place, for example the company I mentioned earlier, they move to a point where bank lending, overdrafts and term loans come into play. Of the 38 companies in which we have invested from the seed fund, only a few would have traditional bank funding. This reflects the area we invest in. As companies mature, other forms of bank funding will click in, such as debtor financing, term loans and other instruments.