Phenomenal America says i-vu

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

Mike Anstey, founder and chief executive of i-vu, was quoted in yesterday’s FT (26th January 2008) in an article entitled ‘Climbdown fails to appease’…

Mike Anstey, founder and chief executive of I-Vu, which installs television screens in hair salons for advertising and staff training, says he is more likely to expand his US operation at the expense of his UK business as a result of this week’s announcement.

“We are not making a knee-jerk reaction, but we may grow in the US significantly more in the next 18 months,” he said.

I-Vu employs 20 people in the UK and recently raised about $80m in funding. However, the rise in capital gains tax from 10 to 18 per cent means that I-Vu is more likely to get better returns abroad, Anstey said.

“America is proving phenomenal for us,” he said. “We are just hitting big money now and have a serious investor behind us who is looking for a return.”

The climbdown reference was to Alastair Darling’s ‘climbdown’ on UK capital gains tax – criticised as too little, too late for many entrepreneurs who are now either planning to sell their businesses or move operations abroad.


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