Edinburgh-headquartered venture capital firm Par Equity is expanding across the border into Yorkshire with two new offices.
Par Equity’s Yorkshire operations comprise bases in Leeds and Sheffield. The move will be overseen by the recently appointed regional development manager Giles Moore.
“Having been involved in Yorkshire startups and scaleups for over a decade, I have seen, first hand, all the challenges this region faces, in addition to the opportunities and developments that have arisen over that time,” Moore said.
Moore’s previous experience includes co-founding the antimicrobial coating firm InfectProtect and managing NorthInvest’s investment programme. He was also Campus Capital’s chief operations officer.
Par Equity has invested nearly £160m into 77 early-stage startups since its launch in 2008. The North of the UK specialist VC’s recent investments include Manchester-based 3D manufacturing modelling startup Partful and EV charging management software Fuuse, based in Lancaster.
“In this region, we don’t shout about our successes and therefore can go unnoticed to the outside world,” added Moore. “It is still underserved from a funding perspective, which is where I believe Par Equity can make a big impact.”
Other investors located in the region are Leeds-based YFM Equity Partners and North of England spinout investor Northern Gritstone.
Read more: Beyond the Capital with Leeds-based investor YFM Equity Partners