Partner Article

University of Manchester signs deal with IP Group

Intellectual property commercialisation firm, IP Group, has signed an agreement with the University of Manchester.

London-based IP Group will create a Proof of Principle funding facility for the University, which is third in the country for its research capabilities behind just Oxford and Cambridge, according to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

The University is also home to the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials, the National Graphene Institute and the project office of the Square Kilometre Array at The University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory.

Manchester’s commercial agreement with IP Group will be operated by the firm’s technology transfer company, UMI3, with an initial £5m provided by IP to proof new ideas for spin-out companies, while the University will provide equity stakes in these spin-outs in return.

IP will receive an equity stake in these spin-outs as well as the right to invest further as they progress. The firm also said it will provide relevant expertise and business support to these projects.

Alan Aubrey, chief executive of IP Group, commented: “Manchester has an outstanding reputation in research, ranking third in the UK, as well as an impressive track record of innovation.

“This agreement augments our existing partnerships while also giving the Group access to an additional source of extremely high quality deal flow.

“We have been impressed not only with the pipeline of opportunities at the University but also with the professionalism of the technology transfer team.

“We are pleased to have entered into this agreement and look forward to working with the UMI3 team and making our first investments.”

The four-year deal, which can be extended to five years subject to certain conditions, will cover materials, clean technology, electronics and communications as well as all non-therapeutic life, medical and human sciences and information technology.

Clive Rowland, CEO of the University of Manchester Innovation Group, said: “IP Group offers excellent access to public market funding and expertise in university technology transfer developed over many years, and at a significant scale, which will be very valuable to the University in continuing to expand its spin-out activities.

“A far horizon of proof-of-principle and connected follow-on funding is critical to the success of university propositions, as is a deep understanding of early stage technology investing which makes IP Group an ideal partner for us.

“Therefore we are very pleased to see IP Group as part of the University’s enterprise community. I’m sure that this arrangement will be successful in improving the scale, quality and speed of companies spinning out from the University.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .