Imperial Innovations in bid to raise £150 million via investment

Imperial Innovations, a company based at Imperial College, is planning to issue new shares on the stock market in a bid to raise up to £150 million. The firm, which is listed on the AIM stock market (a sub market of the London Stock Exchange), intends to use the money to fund future investments in fledgling companies.

Innovations has close ties with Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge and UCL, and has arrangements in place with these universities that allows it to invest in fledgling companies as they start out.

Some of these ventures can prove very successful – for example, earlier this year Circassia, a maker of pet allergy treatments, made over £200 million at the stock market. Innovations, who currently own 14% of the company, raised over £80 million from the venture.

Imperial Innovations intends to split the money that is raised between investing in companies that it already owns a share in, and for investing in new companies. Russell Cummings, the Chief Executive, has already rubber stamped Veryan as a company that could do with extra investment. The business, which makes stents, needs £12 million to gain regulatory approval in the US.

According to the press release from Imperial Innovations, nearly 90% of shareholders have already agreed to the additional placing. They have also agreed to the placing being “non-pre-emptive”, meaning that new investors can buy the shares. The company says that the minimum price for each share will be £4. The current price on the AIM market is 442.50 - a rise of 6% the day after the news was announced.

Martin Knight, the Chairman of Imperial Innovations, said, “The Board believes that strengthening the Group’s balance sheet through the Placing would greatly enhance its ability to attract high quality investment opportunities. It would also improve the Group’s ability to support portfolio companies from inception until their full development, as illustrated by the recent successful IPO of Circassia Pharmaceuticals.

“We have identified opportunities to increase the capital deployed in a number of our leading portfolio companies, which, in aggregate, are seeking to raise over £100 million from investors over the next twelve months.

“It is gratifying that our core shareholders have evidenced their support for this proposed fundraising by giving irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the resolutions needed to enable the Placing to proceed.”

Last week Felix reported that Yoyo had secured $5 million in funding, the majortiy coming from Imperial Innovations.