SPARK Impact expands investment team for North West Fund for Biomedical
9 June 2011
Early stage venture capital company SPARK Impact, which manages the £25m North West Fund for Biomedical for parent organisation The North West Fund, has appointed two new staff to its investment team in Liverpool.
The Northwest Fund for Biomedical is open to biomedical companies based in, or prepared to relocate, to Northwest England.
Dr Marc d'Abbadie has been appointed as investment director at SPARK Impact and Dr Andy Round joins the team as an investment manager.
Dr d'Abbadie has a wealth of entrepreneurial experience and biomedical venture investment knowledge and was previously an investment manager at London-based Inventages, which manages one of the world’s largest life-science focused venture capital funds with assets of $1.5bn.
Dr Round brings with him valuable experience of both sides of the funding process, having invested in and built up a portfolio of life sciences companies at IP-Group, world leaders in early stage investment, and been part of biotechnology start-up company Micap, which floated on AIM.
Both Dr d'Abbadie and Dr Round will be based at SPARK Impact’s offices in the Liverpool Science Park and will work solely on the £25m North West Fund for Biomedical. This fund, part of the £185m Evergreen fund from the European Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), was launched in February 2011 as The North West Fund to help high growth companies in the North West achieve their full potential.
Dr Penny Attridge, Senior Investment Director at SPARK Impact and manager of the fund for the North West region, said: “Marc and Andy bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience from the early stage technology development and biomedical sectors and we are delighted to welcome them to the team. Our investment team work hand in hand with companies going through the funding application process, getting involved in everything from developing business strategies to building top quality management teams, and I have no doubt Marc and Andy’s expertise will be of great benefit to these organisations.”
Speaking about his new role, Dr d'Abbadie said: “SPARK is one of Europe’s leading early-stage venture capital firms and I am delighted to join the team. I am looking forward to making profitable investments which have a significant economic impact on the region and which bring biomedical innovations to market that have a real positive outcome on people’s health.”
Dr Round added: “The Northwest has such a strong heritage in the biomedical sector and I am really looking forward to working closely with a diverse range of biomedical companies to ensure they have all of the business support and guidance they need to secure investment and maximise their innovations.”
The North West Fund for Biomedical is accessible to a broad range of biomedical companies including those developing pharmaceuticals; new diagnostics and medical devices, and those working in the fields of clinical research, contract manufacturing and analytical services.
The £25m Northwest Biomedical Fund is open to biomedical companies based in, or prepared to relocate, to the Northwest. Over 50 businesses are expected to receive investment from the fund over the next five years.
Andy Leach, Chief Executive of The North West Fund, said: “These appointments represent a further strengthening of the investment team being assembled to deliver The North West Fund for Biomedical. With the early momentum of the fund now translating into a steady flow of high quality investment opportunities, the experience brought by these appointments will add further to the funds capabilities.”
Further information
The Northwest Biomedical Fund
- The £25m Northwest Biomedical Fund is open to biomedical companies based in, or prepared to relocate, to Northwest England.
- 40% of the fund is going to be invested on Merseyside.
- Over 50 businesses will receive investment from the fund.
- Initial tranches of funding for start-up companies (up to £50K) could be awarded six–eight weeks from the initial contact.
- Applications are now being accepted (announced June 2011).
- For more information about the fund please visit www.thenorthwestfund.co.uk
The North West Fund
The North West Fund is a £185m evergreen investment fund established to provide debt and equity funding from £50,000 to £2m to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based in, or relocating to, the North West of England. The Fund is one of the largest public sector funds of its kind in Europe and the largest in the UK.
The North West Fund is the umbrella name for the six funds that are available to businesses in the form of debt, equity and quasi-equity. These funds are managed by six fund managers under contract with North West Business Finance Limited (NWBF), which has been established to oversee the delivery of the Fund under the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises Initiative (JEREMIE) in the North West. Funding is provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Further information on The North West Fund is available at www.thenorthwestfund.co.uk
Related links
Liverpool Science Park: www.liverpoolsciencepark.co.uk
European Regional Development Fund: www.erdfnw.co.uk
European Investment Bank: www.eib.org