An investment vehicle hoping to raise £250 million ($319 million) to harness science and technology innovations from a group of British universities has tapped veteran banker Mike Rees and venture capitalist Lisa Smith to lead the fund.
(Bloomberg) — An investment vehicle hoping to raise £250 million ($319 million) to harness science and technology innovations from a group of British universities has tapped veteran banker Mike Rees and venture capitalist Lisa Smith to lead the fund.
Rees, Standard Chartered Plc’s former deputy chief executive officer and head of wholesale banking, becomes inaugural chair of Midlands Mindforge, according to a release seen by Bloomberg. Smith, a VC and chartered engineer, is the new chief executive officer, which was launched in April.
“We are determined to make the UK a tech and science superpower, so it’s imperative that we continue to grow and funnel investment and expertise towards the technologies of the future,” Dominic Johnson, minister for investment, said about the venture in the release.
The body aims to raise funds from institutional investors, strategic partners and individuals to back spin-outs from eight universities in the Midlands, including those in Leicester, Warwick and Nottingham. The grouping already has 126 spinouts worth an estimated £1.1 billion, the release said.
The partnership is among the largest of its kind in the UK and comes as the government is seeking boost growth by supporting more British early-stage ventures and encouraging the successful ones to stay in the UK as they become bigger.
“The university partners we are working with have already shown an incredible commitment to work together to solve the underlying problem faced by spinouts and start-ups struggling to expand in the Midlands: a deficit of funding and financing opportunities,” Smith said.
Rees, who worked for Standard Chartered for more than 25 years and is currently deputy chair of ING’s supervisory board, wrote a report for the government in 2019 about how to improve links between university start-ups and investors.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.