Investment business secures £30m to support Northern university spin-outs

Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on university spin-outs and technology-enabled businesses in the North of England, today announces that it has secured a new capital commitment of £30m from British Patient Capital, the commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank.

Following Northern Gritstone’s first close of £215m in May 2022, this commitment affirms the “strong interest” from investors in its proposition.

The company was launched in 2021 by the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield to accelerate the commercialisation of science and IP-rich businesses originating from these three research-led institutions alongside other science and IP-rich businesses located in the North of England.

Founded with the philosophy of ‘profit with purpose’. Northern Gritstone aims to combine attractive returns for shareholders with wider positive, societal and economic impact, including supporting Levelling Up and high-skilled job creation in the North of England.

British Patient Capital joins a number of other high-profile investors encompassing local authority pension funds, high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors and real estate investors active in the tech and science ecosystem of the region, that have already made significant commitments to Northern Gritstone.

Northern Gritstone is chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill and has built an experienced investment team, under the leadership of chief executive, Duncan Johnson, chief investment officer, Marion Bernard, and CFO, James Hadley.

The business made its first investments in 2022 and has already funded eight early-stage businesses, including life sciences company, Imperagen, immersion cooling technology producer, Iceotope, and biological engineering firm, Opteran. Most recently, Northern Gritstone backed Silveray, the developer of an ultra-efficient X-ray detector technology.

Duncan Johnson, chief executive at Northern Gritstone, commented: “This significant investment from British Patient Capital marks a tremendous achievement for Northern Gritstone as we continue to attract many of the investment world’s most significant players which share our ethos, values and vision as Northern Gritstone shareholders.

“British Patient Capital’s investment is not only a testament to the power of Northern Gritstone’s mission to support science-led spin-outs in the North of England and an endorsement of our ‘profit with purpose’ investment philosophy, but will also strengthen our ability to deliver against these ambitions.

“Having already begun making investments in some of the region’s most exciting and innovative businesses, we look forward to growing our portfolio in the year ahead as we continue to work towards our ultimate goal of developing a northern hub of innovation in technology and science – a Silicon Valley of the North.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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