How the UK Investment Landscape is Helping Alleviate NHS Load on Mental Health

• Smart TMS announces a total investment of £800,000 led by venture firm Hambro Perks
• Smart TMS is the largest provider of TMS treatments in the UK and Ireland, an effective non-pharmaceutical therapy for a range of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and addiction
• Hambro Perks has invested cash in order to help the company treat more people with mental health illnesses across the UK

 Smart TMS, a specialist mental health treatment provider, today announces a capital raise of £800,000 led by London based venture firm Hambro Perks and which includes notable angel investors. Smart TMS aims to expand its growing network of clinics across the UK and Ireland so it can help as many people as possible, as well as expanding its development of this innovative treatment so it can offer its patients the best chance of a full recovery for mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and OCD.

Founded by Gerard Barnes and consultant psychiatrist and medical director Dr. Leigh Neal,  Smart TMS opened its first clinic in 2015 and currently operates seven across the UK and Ireland. With this investment from Hambro Perks, the company plans to open additional clinics in order to make its expertise and services more widely available to help improve the conditions of individuals countrywide.

Amidst the escalating crisis of the mental health epidemic in the UK, the investment community has seen potential in injecting cash into startups that focus on improving the mental health of individuals. Mental health illnesses are affecting an increasing number of the population, resulting in NHS resources becoming strained. Smart TMS uses an alternative method to the usual pharmaceutical treatments and talking therapies to improve depression and many mental health illnesses.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain that can relieve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. With very few side effects, TMS only treats the brain circuits involved in a certain condition, is non-pharmaceutical, and does not flood the brain with unnecessary chemicals. 75 per cent of the patients treated for depression have experienced a significant reduction in their symptoms, with 60 per cent going into remission – meaning they are no longer clinically depressed.

Investment into Smart TMS comes at a time when mental health is prominent in the social sphere with a reported 1 in 4 people suffering from a mental health problem each year. Research conducted by Smart TMS – across a nationally representative sample of 2000 British individuals – has found that 6.7 million Brits have left a long-term mental health issue untreated over many years in order to avoid prescription drugs and that 11.2 million people have experienced symptoms of what they think is undiagnosed depression for many years. This highlights the need for innovative new treatments. Furthermore, research by Smart TMS has found that 30% of Brits feel more anxious in social situations than they used to.

Dominic Perks, CEO, and co-founder of Hambro Perks says; “Hambro Perks is delighted to support Gerard, Leigh and the Smart TMS team as they continue to build their business and help address mental health illness across the country.”

Gerard Barnes, CEO, and co-founder of Smart TMS says; “This investment comes at an exciting time for mental health as it is, at long last, coming out of the shadows. We will use the money to increase our clinic network and so change many more lives for the better”