Northern Gritstone, the new investment business focused on university spin-outs in the north of England, today announces a first close of £215m having seen strong interest from investors in its proposition.

The company, chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill and led by Chief Executive Duncan Johnson, is expected to begin deploying capital and making its first investments in innovative start-ups over the coming weeks.

Northern Gritstone is a ground-breaking new investment company based in the north of England, founded by the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, three of the UK’s leading educational research establishments. 

It intends to be one of the largest investors into academic spin-outs in the United Kingdom, dedicated to financing companies in some of the UK’s fastest growing sectors such as advanced materials, energy, health technology and cognitive computation.

Read more about Northern Gritstone here.