University company boosts investment following £140 million fundraising

Imperial Innovations Group plc, the university owned publicly listed company that commercialises technologies and discoveries from Imperial College London, recently announced to the stock exchange a fundraising worth £140 million which will boost support to inventions inspired by research at the College and investments to University spin-out companies.

Rector of Imperial College London, Sir Keith O’Nions, said: "The College was founded in 1907 with the express goal of applying its research for the benefit of society. In recent years, Imperial Innovations has played a fundamental role in enabling us to realise that vision and we are delighted that the company is going from strength to strength. With increased capacity to invest in companies, Imperial Innovations will enable the College’s ideas and discoveries with the greatest potential to be fully supported and translated into products and services that can be used in industry, healthcare and in a wide range of other applications. The success of Innovations demonstrates how public investment in research can reward its sponsors. It is a virtuous circle: Imperial Innovations’ activities return funds back to the College which helps us to become increasingly self-sufficient as a university."

Imperial Innovations also intends to invest in companies originating from other universities carrying out intensive scientific research. Since 2006, Imperial Innovations has itself invested approximately £47.9 million in spin-out companies out of a total raised by those spinout companies of £211 million. As at 31 July 2010, Imperial Innovations had equity holdings in 79 spin-out companies and in the previous year had disclosed 344 inventions and filed 48 patents resulting from Imperial College London research.