Peter Manning has seen his patented clip-on boot cover reach the shelves of garden centres, DIY and department stores around the country, thanks to backing from an investor found on the xénos angel network.
The £100,000 investment has enabled Mr Manning's newly-formed company, 4Leaves, to bring the wellington boot cover to market under his own brand. He also has high hopes for global orders following trials of the product in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

The Wellitop clips onto a pair of wellington boots, making them easy to carry, while keeping out rain as well as deterring small pests and spiders.

4Leaves already has plans to bring two further products to market soon - the AquaStyle flat-pack waterbutt and RainCan nesting watering can. Both are likely to be manufactured in Wales.

"I'm passionate about my inventions, having invented a number of products for the DIY and retail markets over the years," explained Mr Manning. "The idea for slimmed-down, easy-to-assembly products for the DIY and gardening sectors was something I'd been working on for some time, but I wanted to get these products to market under my own brand rather than via a licensing agreement.

"Last November I needed to find an investor quickly, so I approached xénos, the Wales Business Angel network and almost immediately, angel investor, Richard Tyzack, showed an interest."

Tyzack, an experienced businessman and former retail supplier was looking for the right investment and was instantly attracted to the 4Leaves opportunity.

Mr Tyzack, a former retail supplier said: "I'd previously looked at some technology-related opportunities, but I didn't know enough about them so decided to wait until the right opportunity presented itself. I could see potential in Peter's prototypes and this was an investment in something that I could 'touch and feel', making this more attractive."

Friend and garden centre owner, Martin Davies, also invested £50,000 alongside Tyzack and 4Leaves was formed under the Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Mr Tyzack added : "We've successfully manufactured the Wellitop clip on boot covers and orders are being distributed globally to meet the seasonal demand. We are also in the process of looking at the best way to take our other products to market."