VENTURE capital firm Northstar Ventures hopes to see a record year for investment after completing four deals last month.
The Newcastle company is optimistic after making 55 investments from the year-old £125m Finance for Business North East programme in 2010.
Their £20m Accelerator Fund invests in early-stage businesses, and £15m Proof of Concept (POC) fund supports innovative technology projects with investments of between £20,000 and £100,000. Chief executive Marion Bernard said: “Last year was tremendously busy for the Northstar team. During 2010 we invested a total of £9m in 55 separate transactions across the North East.
“We have continued to work closely with private sector investors and, in 2010, succeeded in raising a further £13m in syndicated deals.
“We work closely with entrepreneurs and early-stage investors to build successful, sustainable enterprises. With Government looking to small businesses to lead the economic recovery, it is great to be able to offer local entrepreneurs the expertise and capital that can help develop their science, technology and innovation-based ideas and turn them into global businesses.
“We have made a flying start to what looks like being another record-breaking year, closing four investments totaling £300,000, alongside £750,000 of co-investment from private sector investors – and there are many more deals in the pipeline.”
In addition to technology and traditional sectors such as manufacturing and healthcare, Northstar also covers the region's burgeoning creative sector thanks to the Finance for Business North East Creative Content Fund.
Launched in partnership with Northern Film & Media and with £2.4m of ERDF funding, this invests in TV, film, music, games, digital and interactive media businesses.
One example is “United” the dramatic story of the Busby Babes and the 1958 Munich air disaster. Filmed at Swan Hunter and other locations in the region, this will screen on the BBC this year.
Bernard said: “Looking forward, we plan to continue investing in early and very early-stage technology and innovation-based businesses, with the Proof of Concept and Accelerator Funds focusing on these potentially high-growth companies.”
“Finance for Business North East funds have become the first port of call for regional SMEs looking for growth capital. Given the lack of lending from more traditional sources of finance such as banks, I don’t see this situation changing in the near future.”
Last year, Northstar led a £1.6m investment round in Re:innervate, a spin-out that came from research work undertaken at Durham University.
Re:innervate’s pioneering technologies, focused on the growth and function of cultured cells, had previously received two investments from Northstar’s Co-Investment Fund.
