Northern Gritstone has secured £20m in new funding commitments to support its investments in the life science and deep tech sectors of the north of England.
The funding boost came from existing shareholders in the venture capital group, including a cornerstone investment from the British Business Bank and follows significant fundraising by Northern Gritstone last year.
Based in Manchester, Northern Gritstone specialises in investments in innovative businesses in northern England, particularly spinouts from the ‘Northern Arc’ universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield.
“We are very grateful for this further support from the British Business Bank and Andrew Law to continue developing global businesses in the North of England originating from our ‘Northern Arc’ university ecosystem. In this way, investors are contributing to future higher value-added activity and the North’s productivity,” said Northern Gritstone chair Lord Jim O’Neill.
“This strong start to Northern Gritstone’s rolling close in today’s challenging fundraising environment shows the belief in innovation coming from the North of England,” added the group’s chief executive Duncan Johnson.
The region is now an integral part of the UK’s Technology Diamond, and we are proud to support the incredible talent of the North, helping to commercialise groundbreaking research into internationally commercial businesses.”
Earlier this year Northern Gritstone led a £23m funding round for Leeds-based photonics company Optalysys.
