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Newcastle University spinouts secure £40m from investors

Newcastle University spinouts
Image credit: John New / Shutterstock.com

Spinouts from Newcastle University secured a record £40m from investors in 2023, new data has shown.

The investment was split across 16 Newcastle University spinouts hailing from sectors including digital tech, life sciences and sustainable engineering.

More than half the 2023 Newcastle spinout investment was secured by Advanced Electric Machines. In November the electric vehicle motor maker secured £23m to scale up production.

The data, compiled by inward investment agency Invest Newcastle, shows that the university’s 37 active spinout companies now employ more than 300 people.

Rick McCordall, Newcastle University’s head of company creation, said: “We’re delighted to see such strong investor confidence in our spin out companies.

“Our goal when developing new companies is to create high-value jobs in the North East of England. To do this we need to bring together world-leading research and discovery with commercial know-how and investor backing.”

Other notable funding rounds include the £925,000 secured by XR Therapeutics, £1.25m for Aelius Biotech and £1.05m for CellRev.

Newcastle’s spinout ecosystem received support from the university’s angel investor group and the Northern Accelerator scheme – a collaboration between universities in Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and York Universities.

In November the Treasury published an independent review into university spinouts, which included a recommendation for universities to take a 10% to 25% stake in IP-intensive spinouts – such as life science firms – and no more than a 10% stake in less IP-intensive startups.

The findings were met with widespread approval from both universities and investors.

“The investment raised by these spinouts in 2023 demonstrates both the great potential for business creation which exists in North East universities and the value of the support delivered through the Northern Accelerator programme,” said Richard Baker, programme lead for Northern Accelerator and Director of Economic Development and Commercialisation at Durham University.

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