Northern Gritstone, the investment firm focused on science and technology enabled businesses in the North of England, has announced its latest fundraise of £50 million from leading institutional investors — bringing its total permanent capital to £362 million.
£35 million of the new funding commitments come from Northern LGPS, the collective asset pool for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire Pension Funds, with a further £15 million boost from new investors Fulcrum Asset Management and Aviva.
Northern Gritstone also announced the appointment of Greater Manchester Pension Fund Assistant Director Paddy Dowdall to its board as non-executive director.
Northern Gritstone was launched in July 2021 by the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield.
“The company supports some of the most exciting areas of development and future job creation in deeptech and life sciences, including semiconductor design and manufacturing; novel materials; secure computing; AI; healthtech; and gene therapies,” said Northern Gritstone.
Northern Gritstone chair Jim O’Neill, said: “We are very grateful for this further support from investors in our journey to develop world winning businesses in the North of England originating from our University ecosystem and contributing to the future of higher value added activity and the North’s productivity.”
Northern Gritstone CEO Duncan Johnson said: “This new fundraise backed by Northern LGPS, Fulcrum and Aviva is testimony to our ability to create the world-leading businesses of tomorrow based on world-class innovation that exists in the North of England.”
New non-executive director Paddy Dowdall said: “Northern LGPS’ commitment to Northern Gritstone aligns with the UK Government’s mission to support UK innovation and growth through pension fund investing. I am delighted to join Northern Gritstone’s Board to support positive impact on local and regional growth”
Fulcrum Asset Management executive director David Merton said: “We are delighted to form a long-term partnership with Northern Gritstone. Our venture capital strategy is built around identifying and backing leading hubs of innovation.
“It became clear during our due diligence that Northern Gritstone’s design and focus on spin-outs from leading universities in the North of England strongly aligns with this.
“We see immense potential in their ambition to cultivate a dynamic community of science and technology businesses across the North — a vision that we are proud to support.”