Simon Acland (born 27 March 1958) is a British venture capitalist and author.

Education

Simon Hugh Verdon Acland was educated at Eton and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...

, graduating in 1979 with an Honours Degree in Modern Languages (French and German).

Career

Venture capitalism

He spent most of his venture capital career at London-based Quester. He specialised in backing early-stage technology businesses. Two of these, Surfcontrol plc and Orchestream plc, became members of the FTSE 250. Quester was acquired in 2007 by Spark Ventures. Acland is a director of a number of companies, including AIM-listed Elektron Technology plc and two Venture Capital Trusts managed by Triple Point Investment Management, TP70 2008 (I) plc and TP70 2010 plc. He is a Trustee of the wild flora conservation charity

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

Writing

In June 2010 Acland's first novel, ''The Waste Land'', was published by Charlwood Books. A sequel, ''The Flowers of Evil'', followed in July 2011. These are historical novels set in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

which draw for their material on some of the myths and legends about the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...

, the

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...

, and the

Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. In October 2010 Nicholas Brealey Publishing published Acland's ''Angels, Dragons and Vultures : How to tame your investors...and not lose your company'', a guide for entrepreneurs to raising finance and managing investors based on his experience of the venture capital world.

Political career

Acland was elected as a member of the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier ...

in 1982 for Princes Ward in Kennington. He became Leader of the SDP/Liberal Alliance Group on Lambeth Council in 1984 and was re-elected to the Council for a second four-year term in 1986. In June 1987 he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the Vauxhall Constituency.

Personal life

Acland's father was Sir

Antony Acland Sir Antony Arthur Acland (12 March 1930 – 8 September 2021) was a British diplomat and a provost of Eton College. Early life Antony Acland was the second son of Bridget Susan (Barnett) and Brigadier Peter Acland. He was educated at Et ...

KG, GCMG, GCVO, Head of the Diplomatic Service between 1982 and 1986, and then British Ambassador in Washington till 1991. Simon Acland is married to Jo Valentine, Baroness Valentine, a cross-bench peer, and former Chief Executive of "

London First BusinessLDN (spoken as Business London) is a not for profit advocacy group with a membership composed of leaders of businesses in London, United Kingdom. , it represented around 175 London based businesses. Its stated aim is "to make London th ...

References

External links

*
plantlife.org.uk

elektron-technology.com

nicholasbrealey.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Simon 1958 births Living people Simon People educated at Eton College British male writers British venture capitalists Spouses of life peers Liberal Party (UK) councillors