LONDON (Alliance News) - Imperial Innovations Group PLC on Monday said it has committed GBP24.8 million into an investment fund established by University College London to commercialise its research.
The investment fund is expected to invest up to GBP50.0 million over the next five years, with money to be directed into supporting ideas from academics in life sciences and physical sciences. The money will fund early-stage proof of concept funding, licensing opportunities and forming new spin-out companies.
As a limited partner, Imperial Innovations' commitment has been matched by the European Investment Fund, which is a specialist finance provider owned by the European Investment Bank, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and a range of public and private banks and financial institutions.
"We expect our participation in this new fund will lead to a significant increase in our rate of investment in UCL-related spinouts to which we will have access via our role in this new fund," Russ Cummings, chief executive at Imperial Innovations, said in a statement.
"As well as enhancing the opportunities from UCL, we are signalling a step-change in our support to commercialise the outstanding research output from the UK's elite universities. This is a new, collaborative model that could be replicated with other universities," Cummings said.
The fund will be managed by Albion Ventures LLP, a UK venture capital investor, which is also contributing to the fund.
"The fund manager, Albion also brings extensive experience from early-stage investing across a variety of sectors," Piyush Unalkat, head of technology transfer investments at the European Investment Fund, said.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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