North East accelerator gets backing to commercialise university research
The Northern Accelerator is to expand to help academics at Newcastle, Northumbria, Durham, Sunderland and Teesside universities.
A pioneering service to turn university research into successful businesses in the North East is to expand in the region and take its model to other parts of the country after £3.6m in Government funding.
The Northern Accelerator programme – which has helped launch 34 businesses from Newcastle, Northumbria, Durham and Sunderland universities – has secured the funding from Research England.
Now it has signed up Teesside University to join its programme, which aims to put strong management teams into university spin-out companies to speed up their growth and is also hoping to create a £75m equity fund for new firms.
Northern Accelerator’s support programme has seen more than 200 academics trained in entrepreneurship and £2.1m funding awarded to academics to progress 50 research projects closer to commercialisation.
Meanwhile, a Northern Accelerator Seed Investment Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures, has invested a total of £1.8m into nine businesses, with plans to grow this to a much larger long-term venture capital fund for university spin-outs in the region.
The additional funding from Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund will allow the partnership to continue for another two years, as well as introducing a new scale-up programme for businesses deemed to have significant high growth potential.
Dr Tim Hammond, Northern Accelerator project lead and director of commercialisation at Durham University, said: “Northern Accelerator evolved from an initial Executives into Business programme into a full programme of support and we’re really bolstering the region’s innovation ecosystem with the creation of a long-term venture capital fund for spin-out businesses.
“It is fantastic to receive confirmation that we’ve been successful in our bid for further CCF funding, allowing us to continue the good work already undertaken to contribute to regional prosperity and societal impact.”
Alan Welby, innovation director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “Having the right funding and innovation infrastructure in place on a regional level is vital to create the conditions for spin-out businesses to grow and flourish and, in that respect, Northern Accelerator plays an important role.
“I am delighted that Northern Accelerator has received follow-on funding. It proves that that programme is delivering well.”
News source: Business Live North East.
Other News
Follow NETPark On Social Media
Keep up to date with the latest NETPark news and events.
The North East Technology Park provides a dynamic and supportive environment to accelerate the growth of ambitious, innovative, high tech companies into global markets. NETPark encourages collaborative multidisciplinary links, driving innovation, enterprise and economic prosperity.
We provide companies with access to a focused and international community where talent flourishes, ideas are generated and businesses have the support and resources to compete with the best in the world.
NETPark North East Technology Park
NETPark, North East Technology Park,
Sedgefield, County Durham TS21 3FD
Call Us: (+44) 01740 625250
Email: enquiries@northeasttechnologypark.com
Web: northeasttechnologypark.com
CPI has developed a specialist offering to support SMEs looking to develop their printable electronics applications and our partnership with Business Durham has been instrumental in attracting several SMEs to locate here in the region.
We initially came because of the printable electronics centre but access to a highly skilled semi conductor workforce in the North East has been a key factor in us staying and growing here, as well as the value for money office space and the access to funding.
The proximity to the universities and the infrastructure are very important factors. Ultimately having a presence in Europe is very valuable to us and we intend to stay at NETPark for many years to come.
It fits perfectly for us that we’re surrounded by like-minded companies at NETPark. There are a number of highly skilled people in the area who can help us grow our business. The facilities and services offered by NETPark are first class, they make office life simple and engaging.
The quality of the facilities at NETPark and the attitude of staff is first class. It has a really dynamic, innovative atmosphere.
Access to quality facilities was one of the main drivers for deciding to locate the business at the NETPark. We have been able to use this as a launch pad to link into support from CPI and world-class expertise from Durham University.