ANGELS, armed with more than £70 million worth of potential funding, are winging their way to York to dispense lolly to worthy entrepreneurs in the city.

The Business Angels Network is to hold an Investors Fair in the Ebor Suite at York racecourse on January 18 to attract ventures looking for capital for a kick-start or expansion.

Exhibiting businesses will be able to discuss their entrepreneurial proposals with the angels - individuals who provide both finance and personal business expertise in return for a minority equity share.

The event, which is being organised by Business Angels Network in conjunction with the York office of solicitors Rollit Farrell & Bladon, builds on the success of the last Angels Network fair in Garforth, near Leeds, last June.

That resulted in a number of matches between investors and new businesses that have progressed to "due diligence" stage, with some already finalised.

Ken Ormerod, manager of the Business Angels Network said: "For our June event we had more companies wishing to exhibit than we could accommodate and a higher-than-expected turnout of investors. This proved that funding is still a major issue for small and medium-sized enterprises and that there is capital out there for the right business proposal."

He said he expected that January's Investors Fair would be even bigger, with more than £70 million worth of potential funding available.

"A number of businesses have already expressed an interest in taking part but we are looking for additional proposals from all industry sectors to fill the 36 exhibitor slots.

"Only investment-ready businesses will be selected to attend to ensure that the event continues to be attractive to investors."