PRESS RELEASE 26 January 2017
Midlands universities showcase the “critical mass” of investment opportunity in the region
26 January 2017: The University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham announce that they will be presenting jointly for the first time on January 26th, at an invitation-only event held by Mercia Technologies PLC, one of the UK’s leading investors in early-stage technology companies, including university spin-out companies.
The two universities are the largest in the Midlands, and have an established agreement to collaborate on research, business engagement and internationalisation. They also have an outstanding pipeline of Intellectual Property which rivals that of the universities in the Golden Triangle.
The event aims to showcase the critical mass of investment opportunities in the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland and it will take place in Manchester’s Town Hall at 6.30pm tonight.
Dr Mark Payton, CEO of Mercia Technologies PLC, said: “This year, Mercia is bringing together its entire Group to celebrate the wealth of investment opportunities that exist in the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland. With university partnerships across what we refer to as the capital-underserved regions of the UK, we have invested in spinout businesses from both Birmingham and Nottingham universities. We are confident that these exemplary research institutions will provide further evidence of their ability to create innovative technology businesses that are capable of boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
Dr James Wilkie, CEO of Alta Innovations, the technology transfer company for the University of Birmingham, said: “We will be touching upon a vibrant and diverse sampling from the two spin-out portfolios. Many of the companies have disruptive technologies and all address areas of high unmet need in their respective sectors. They also benefit from the guidance and support provided by the experienced technology transfer teams at the two universities.”
Dr Susan Huxtable, Director of IP and Commercialisation at The University of Nottingham, said: “The joint portfolios from the two universities have attracted over £200 million in investment in recent years. Successes such as the flotation of Oncimmune in May 2016 for £66 million are a concrete example of the high quality of our portfolio companies. Through this joint initiative we hope to attract even more investment, resulting in more successful flotations in the near future.”
The University of Birmingham has a portfolio which includes –
Smart Antenna Technologies: a single antenna system for mobile devices that can fit in the hinge of a laptop, reducing mobile device size, boosting battery life and reducing production costs
Linear Diagnostics: a handheld device that identifies antibiotic resistant bacteria in body fluids
Cytox: a blood-based test to predict whether an individual with Mild Cognitive Impairment will develop Alzheimer’s disease
Irresistible materials: unique carbon-based materials that deposit a layer of material at the nanometer scale, to overcome roadblocks in development of next generation of semi-conductors
BioVici: a blood-based, diagnostic test that shows whether an individual with a head injury should be treated for Traumatic Brain Injury
The University of Nottingham has a portfolio which includes –
SurePulse Medical: a highly accurate heart rate measuring technology designed specifically for babies who need resuscitation at birth
Locate Therapeutics: a unique, thermally-active, injectable tissue scaffold that provides support for tissue repair before dissolving away
Azotic Technologies: a seed coating that enables plants to fix nitrogen from the air reducing the need for nitrogenous fertilizer and the associated pollution from run-off
Footfalls & Heartbeats: smart knitted fabrics made with electrically conductive yarn which can measure compressive and tensile force. Applications include sports clothing, compression bandages and hospital beds.
Promethean Particles: a manufacturing process to produce nanoparticles of defined size and morphology in wet dispersions – the wide variety of applications includes nano-copper for printed electronics.
NU Vision: high quality, affordable biotherapies for treating ‘front of the eye’ disease and trauma
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About the University of Birmingham. Alta Innovations is the technology transfer company for the University of Birmingham. The company provides an Intellectual Property service to University academics, and manages the University of Birmingham spinout portfolio, which includes both life science and technology companies. For further information about the University of Birmingham spinout portfolio, please contact Ruth Ashton, Communications Manager, on 0121 414 9090, 07989 558 041, or email [email protected].
About the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university in the UK among graduate employers, one of the world’s greenest universities, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World’s Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
More information on the Nottingham portfolio is available from Nick King, Marketing Projects Manager, University of Nottingham, +44 (0)115 82 32184, or email [email protected]
About Mercia Technologies PLC
Mercia is a national investment group focused on the creation, funding and scaling of innovative businesses with high growth potential from the UK regions. Mercia benefits from 18 university partnerships and six offices across the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland providing it with access to high quality, regional deal flow. Mercia Technologies PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic “MERC”.
Mercia’s ‘Complete Capital Solution’ initially nurtures businesses via its third party funds (with more than £228.0million under management) and then over time Mercia can provide further funding to its ‘Emerging Stars’ by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet.
Since its IPO in December 2014, the Company has invested over £30.0million directly across its portfolio of Emerging Stars.