IP Group launches £30m venture fund to back new businesses
IP Group, which invests and develops intellectual property based businesses, has launched a new £30m venture capital fund in partnership with the European Investment Fund.
The move will see the new fund, called IP Venture Fund II, invest alongside IP Group in new spin-out companies from it’s university partnerships, which include the University of Sheffield.
IP Group has backed University of Sheffield spin-out Magnomatics and other Yorkshire businesses including Xeros and Avacta.
The new fund is made up £30m of capital with a £20m contribution from the EIF and a £10m contribution from IP Group.
It will co-invest with IP Group on a ratio of 4:1 with IP Group putting in four fifths and the EIF the remainder.
The creation of the Fund follows the success of its predecessor, IP Venture Fund, IP Group’s original £31m fund with the EIF which was created in 2006. To date, IP Venture Fund has invested £21m into 26 of the group’s portfolio companies.
As with the original fund, IP Venture Fund II will be managed by Top Technology Ventures, the FCA authorised venture capital fund management subsidiary of IP Group.
Alan Aubrey, chief executive of IP Group, said: “We are delighted to have agreed a second fund with the EIF; a key partner for the group who share a similar view on the importance of providing long-term ‘patient’ capital to intellectual property commercialisation.
“Finding like-minded partners to invest alongside us remains an important component of our model; ensuring our most promising companies have access to patient capital as well as delivering synergistic value to both shareholders and partners. We are very much looking forward to our expanded relationship with the EIF.”
Piyush Unalkat, principal (equity investments) of the EIF, said: “We have been working with IP Group since 2006 and have been impressed by the group’s ability to build valuable companies from the best of British intellectual property and evidence returns to co-investors and shareholders. We look forward to creating the next generation of spin-outs with the new fund.”
