Join us at Angels’ Den Sussex 2026
10 charities. 1 stage.
£150,000.
New Venue, More Funding.
Doors open at 6.30pm
Event starts at 7pm
9th November 2026 at
The Corn Exchange
New Rd, Brighton
BN1 1UG
Angels' Den returns to Brighton on 9th November 2026, moving to the magnificent Brighton Corn Exchange. With over 300 guests, an expanded funding pool, and a new cohort of grassroots charities taking to the stage, this promises to be the most impactful evening yet.
With 6 Angels each providing funding of £12,500, and those sums being matched once again by Focus Foundation, the total funding pool will be a massive £150,000. 10 finalists will once again deliver their best pitch in front of the Angels and a live audience, in the hope of not only winning a large share of the funding available but also to increase exposure for their charity in front of so many influential people from around the county.
Our Angels
Sarah Leslie
Sarah is a Trustee of the Clare Foundation and a founding Director of ndapt ltd, a purpose-driven business delivering board advisory and professional trustee services.
Acting as a force for positive change and driving progress for the clients and charities she works with, Sarah focuses on robust governance and future-fit decision-making and has been instrumental in driving the charitable giveback program launched by ndapt in 2023.
Her flexible approach focuses on delivering the right outcome. Sarah is strategic, commercial and risk-focused, with a drive to deliver transparency, diversity, and sustainability. She works with a range of clients including charities, family-run businesses and household names.
Prior to setting up ndapt, she led the Russell Investment’s fiduciary management team in the UK through a period of sustained growth.
“Angels’ Den makes a difference to so many charities. It broadens understanding of the challenges being faced and provides insight into how positive change can be delivered. I hope my skills and knowledge can be applied, along with the other Angels, to raise awareness and drive meaningful change.”
Sarah Willingham
Sarah is one of Europe’s most prominent entrepreneurs, investors and consumer experts, working mainly in the hospitality and lifestyle sectors. She is a proud mum of four and believes that parenthood and business can exist simultaneously, without sacrificing the quality of each other.
In her twenties, Sarah led the international expansion of Pizza Express and Planet Hollywood before going it alone to buy Bombay Bicycle Club, turning it into the UK’s largest chain of Indian restaurants. These successes helped establish her as a leading figure within the restaurant industry.
Sarah is also a recognised media personality, appearing as a judge on Raymond Blanc’s ‘The Restaurant’ and sitting alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Nick Jenkins and Touker Suleyman as an investor on BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’.
“This is really important, nights like this (Angels’ Den Sussex) really make a difference and are very impactful.”
James Bicknell
James Bicknell is Group CEO of Multiply Media Group, a leading out-of-home media business operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK. He has spent much of his career building and scaling businesses internationally, with a particular focus on long-term growth, entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for people to succeed. Alongside his business career, James is Co-Founder of the JLB Foundation, a family foundation focused on improving the lives of children and young people through non-formal education. Its work centres on three areas: sport, volunteering and life skills, supporting organisations that build confidence, character and resilience and create stronger communities. “Angels Den gives us the opportunity to meet exceptional grassroots organisations, understand what they are trying to achieve and put meaningful support behind the ones with the potential to make a lasting difference.”
Rob Starr
Rob is a local businessman, charity founder and author of four crime novels. Recently recognised in the King’s Honours for his services to young people and philanthropy, he founded The Starr Trust in 2008 to help young people aged 10–25 fulfil their potential through sport, arts and education. The charity has now supported more than 6,000 young people, with his company, SEICO, covering its running costs.
Rob started his first business selling insurance from his bedroom after leaving school with no qualifications. Today, 35 years on, the company operates across the UK and Africa with annual group turnover exceeding £50m.
A passionate fundraiser, Rob has completed numerous marathons, 52 triathlons in a single year and swum the English Channel.
“Small community charities do so much for their towns and cities, often unrecognised, and this incredible initiative deserves our support. I am truly honoured to be part of this event.”
Sir Rod Aldridge is one of the UK’s leading social and business entrepreneurs, with a career spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Leaving school at 16, he began his career in local government, qualifying as an accountant. After more than 20 years in the public sector, he founded Capita, initially providing consultancy services to public bodies. Over the next 22 years, the Capita Group grew from a start-up into a FTSE 100 company valued at c£7 billion and employing 65,000 people.
Following his retirement from Capita in 2006, Sir Rod founded the Aldridge Foundation, which puts enterprise skills and an entrepreneurial mindset at the heart of young people’s education and this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Its family of 12 non-selective state academies and colleges educates around 10,000 students across London, the South East and North West.
Sir Rod chaired The Lowry, the arts and theatre complex in Salford for 18 years and is a Patron of The Prince’s Trust. He is President of Sussex Cricket, reflecting his lifelong passion for the game and its power to transform lives.
Sir Rod Aldridge
Chris Godsmark
Chris is Co-Founder and Joint Managing Partner at Limewood Capital, a recently launched investment company in the telecoms, cloud and data centre markets. Chris has almost 30 years experience in global M&A advice across the Telecoms and Technology Sectors, having worked on more than 200 transactions with a combined value in excess of £45bn.
Most recently Chris worked for a US investment advisory firm, having sold his advisory business in 2023, which he ran for 15 years with his business partner. He started his career as a Financial Journalist for ten years with the BBC as a Business Reporter on radio and TV and then with the Independent Newspaper.
Chris has worked on a many different M&A deals including advising Virgin Group, Ovo Energy, Daisy Communications and Focus Group.
The Finalists
Last Year’s Winners
Brighton Table Tennis Club - £25,000 | Youth & Community Development
The Children’s Respite Trust - £30,940 | Disabled Children*
Grassroots Suicide Prevention -£12,500 | Suicide & Mental ealth Support
The Real Junk Food Project Brighton - £8,750 | Food Poverty & Social Isolation
The Launchpad Collective - £8,750 | Refugee Employment
Pelican Parcels - £7,500 | Poverty & Social Isolation
MindOut - £5,000 | Mental Health Support for LGBTQ+
Springboard - £5,000 | SEND Services for Children
Sussex Nightstop - £5,000 | Youth Homelessness
Wolo Foundation - £5,000 | Family Cancer Support
*Children’s Respite Trust were runners up but also received funding from the audience vote.
Headline Sponsor:
Supporting Sponsors:
Want to buy a ticket to the LIVE event?
Angels' Den returns to Brighton on 9th November 2026, moving to the magnificent Brighton Corn Exchange.
Your ticket has the power to create change. When you buy a ticket to Angels’ Den Sussex, you’re not simply taking a seat - you’re helping decide where vital funding goes. Every ticket acts as a donation, and contributes to the Audience Vote, giving you the power to champion the charity that moves you most and help make their vision for lasting community change possible.