Northern LGPS invests in new North of England VC fund
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Greater Manchester Pension Fund and West Yorkshire Pension Fund, as part of Northern LGPS, have invested in a venture capital fund by Northern Gritstone, which is focused on university spin-outs in the North of England.
The schemes invested alongside M&G, Columbia Threadneedle, Lansdowne Partners and Bruntwood, as well as Andrew Law, chief executive of Caxton Associates, and Keith Breslauer, founder of Patron Capital.
“Northern LGPS is pleased to support Northern Gritstone which we see as well positioned to deliver us appropriate risk adjusted returns whilst providing a significant catalyst to economic growth in the North of England utilising the talent from its world class universities,” said the chair of Northern LGPS, Cllr Ged Cooney.
Northern Gritstone announced a first close of £215m earlier this month, having seen strong interest from investors in its proposition. It expects to begin deploying capital and making its first investments in innovative start-ups over the coming weeks.
The venture capital firm, launched last year and chaired by cross-bencher Lord Jim O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs banker, plans to raise £500m overall. It was founded by the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield to support the commercialisation of science and IP-rich businesses, with the universities seeing opportunities in advanced materials, health technology, cognitive computation and AI. Northern Gritstone aims to make a ‘profit with purpose’, supporting the government’s Levelling Up agenda.
“There is rightly huge excitement about the innovative, science-led spin outs emerging from our leading research universities and the ecosystems they support, and this has been reflected in our conversations with investors so far. We are greatly encouraged by both the size of our first close, and also the range and quality of investors that the Northern Gritstone proposition has attracted,” said chief executive Duncan Johnson.
“Whilst fundraising will continue, this first close and the backing that Northern Gritstone has received from investors so far, allows us to begin making our first investments shortly,” he added.
“Whilst fundraising will continue, this first close and the backing that Northern Gritstone has received from investors so far, allows us to begin making our first investments shortly,” he added.
