Northern Gritstone raises £50m backed by Aviva and UK pension funds

Deep tech investor Northern Gritstone has raised £50m from institutional traders together with the funding arm of insurer Aviva.

The money injection brings the Pragmatic Semiconductor and Optalysys investor’s whole everlasting capital to £362m.

Northern Gritstone backs life science and deep tech corporations within the north of England, sometimes at an early stage.

“We’re very grateful for this additional assist from traders in our journey to develop world profitable companies within the North of England originating from our college ecosystem and contributing to the way forward for greater value-added exercise and the North’s productiveness,” mentioned Lord Jim O’Neill, chair of Northern Gritstone and a former Treasury minister beneath the governments of David Cameron and Theresa Could.

The majority of the funding, £35m, got here from Northern LGPS – a collective asset pool for the pension funds of Higher Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire. The remaining £15m got here from Aviva Buyers.

“Aviva has a considerable presence throughout the North of England and is delighted to assist progress investments developed throughout the area by our funding with Northern Gritstone. College spin outs will assist energy innovation, drive tangible real-world influence, and assist the UK to prepare for the long run,” mentioned Ben Luckett, managing director of enterprise and strategic capital at Aviva Buyers.

Aviva final month equipped £15m to spinout investor Oxford Science Enterprises.

Alongside the funding, Higher Manchester Pension Fund assistant director Paddy Dowdall will even be a part of Northern Gritstone’s board as a non-executive director.

Dowdall commented: “Northern LGPS’ dedication to Northern Gritstone aligns with the UK Authorities’s mission to assist UK innovation and progress by pension fund investing.

“I’m delighted to hitch Northern Gritstone’s Board to assist constructive influence on native and regional progress”