A gala dinner held by Barclays Bank discussed entrepreneurship.

Guest speakers included Simon Nicholas, xhair of Bridge, the Manx Angel Investor Network, which aims to encourage investment into start-up companies and high-growth business on the Isle of Man, and Juliet Rogan, head of high hrowth and entrepreneurs at Barclays.

Ms Rogan described the entrepreneurial landscape in the UK, what investors look for when investing in a startup and what Barclays is doing to champion entrepreneurs during a Q&A session with Shaun Phillips, managing director of Barclays Overseas Services.

’In recent years, entrepreneurship has gone mainstream - people are dreaming up ideas at their desks, trying to start new initiatives and looking to disrupt the status quo,’ said Ms Rogan.

’The past decade has witnessed a dramatic growth in the number and types of investors helping businesses at all stages of their development and the UK sits firmly at the centre of this trend.

’At Barclays we understand the entrepreneurial landscape and we help our clients to successfully navigate it. We have lent over £150m to early stage high growth companies in the last three years to help them achieve their growth aspirations.’

Simon Nicholas provided a local view of entrepreneurship, discussing some of the trends and the role the Angel Network plays in championing start-ups.

’Entrepreneurs are vital to the long term stability of the lsle of Man economy. The island benefits from a diversified economy and there is a desire for the island to continue to be seen as an innovator and this is where entrepreneurship can really support us,’ said Mr Nicholas.

’At Bridge we put the entrepreneur at the heart of everything we do. We’ve worked to create an entrepreneur friendly environment on the island, providing the infrastructure that is needed and we have seen clear growth in entrepreneurial businesses setting up here but there is still more that we can be doing as an island, especially when it comes to the supply of capital and turnaround times of all third parties involved.’

Simon Scott, country head for Barclays in the Isle of Man, said: ’Barclays prides itself on facilitating valuable thought leadership debate during our annual gala dinner and I hope attendees benefitted from the insight of our speakers on this year’s theme of entrepreneurship, which is a rising sector of the local business community.

’Barclays’ support for entrepreneurs is very much aligned with our shared growth ambition which focuses on doing business that provides our clients, customers, shareholders and the communities we serve with a prosperous future. This involves providing access to employment, financial and digital empowerment and financing.’