The Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield are launching a new investment company to help boost the commercialisation of university spinouts and start-ups in the North of England.听
The company, Northern Gritstone, will fund spinout enterprises from each institution using external capital raised from a range of different investors.听听
These businesses will either be newly formed spinouts or ones historically founded by or linked to the universities. The company also aims to be a key part of the听government鈥檚 鈥楤uild Back Better鈥� levelling up agenda and听鈥�Plan for Growth鈥�听in the North.听
The three universities initially came together in 2018 to create the Northern Triangle Initiative and secured a 拢5 million award from the Research England Connecting Capabilities Fund.听听
By 2020 the CCF had supported about 20 commercially viable projects, substantially improving commercialisation rates across the three universities, and generating a sustainable pipeline of university spinouts.听
Northern Gritstone will build on this collaboration by providing significant start-up and follow-on funding to support the Intellectual Property developed at Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield.听听
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It plans to raise up to 拢500 million from strategic corporate partners, institutional investors, and qualifying individuals. If successful, the financing will make Northern Gritstone one of the largest dedicated investors into the commercialisation of university science and technology related Intellectual Property in the UK.听
Northern Gritstone will provide funding for a diverse range of companies across areas such as advanced materials and manufacturing, health and life sciences, artificial intelligence, and data sciences.听
Jane Madeley, the University of听尝别别诲蝉鈥�听Chief Financial Officer, will represent the university as a non-executive director on Northern Gritstone鈥檚 board.听
She said: 鈥淟eeds and our fellow founding universities are technological powerhouses, pursuing research and innovation that has the potential to help tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the world. But a lack of capital investment has sometimes limited that capability 鈥� Northern Gritstone will go a long way to help release this pent-up potential.鈥�听
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The University of Manchester Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Luke Georghiou 鈥� who is responsible for business engagement and commercialisation activities at the institution 鈥� said: 鈥淣orthern Gritstone will play a key role in the Government鈥檚 levelling up agenda and help the North of England鈥檚 local and regional economies to 鈥楤uild, Back, Better,鈥� following the pandemic and economic burdens of lockdown.听听
鈥淭his company will be a game-changer for investment and commercialisation of university-led research, ideas and IP in the UK.鈥�听
Professor Dave Petley, Vice-President for Innovation at the University of Sheffield, said: 鈥淣orthern Gritstone is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and collaboration between three of the country鈥檚 leading research universities, but we are just at the beginning of a project that has immense potential for everyone, from investors to researchers.听
鈥淭he combination of a globally significant cluster of highly innovative activity and large-scale investment power will drive the rapid scale-up of firms at the forefront of sectors based on technologies such as health and life sciences, AI and data analytics, advanced materials and manufacturing.鈥�听