London and Singapore-based Milltrust is hiring a new investment director for its British Innovation Fund (BIF).
Launched in October 2016, the BIF was established to direct much needed international and domestic institutional capital into the UK University-originated venture sector to commercialize world-leading IP, with a strong inclusion of agri-science and technology.
Backed by long-term, patient capital, the BIF invests amid a field of experienced VCs in AI, agri-science, nanotechnology, and medtech. However, unlike most VCs, which have a hard set term, the BIF has been formed to commit capital to chosen companies which it then nurtures through their next phase of growth, Simon Hopkins, founder of Milltrust International Group, explained to GAI News.
“[The fund will] then sell the investment to the type of investor who can spur the next phase,” said Hopkins. “Consequently, we anticipate recycling our capital quite aggressively, and raising additional funding by issuing new units to new investors, and ultimately new shareholders, as we expect to consider listing the vehicle once it has a value of over 100 million GBP.”
To date the BIF has invested in companies connected to Cambridge, Edinburgh, Exeter, and Oxford Universities, and a new commercialization vehicle for the well-known Roslin Institute, famous for Dolly, the first cloned sheep 22 years ago.
However, it is important to note that two of the fund’s investments are themselves portfolios: The Oxford Sciences Innovation holding includes 40 investments, and Roslin Technologies, Edinburgh, which is developing five discrete opportunities, each of which could be its own stand-alone business, given time.
An Ideal Fit
Once onboard, the new investor director for the BIF will be responsible for continuing to build the presence of the fund within the UK innovation space. Reporting to the CIO, the new director also will assess, recommend, and present investment opportunities to the Investment Advisory Committee, which includes veteran banker and venture capital professional Mark Ebert, former CEO of Panmure Gordon, and co-founder of Lyceum Capital, Bristol-based entrepreneur Dr. Stephen Allpress, University venture pioneer Dr. Kenny Tang, and world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon David Lai, as well as Milltrust Founder Simon Hopkins.
Hopkins told GAI News that the ideal candidate would also be jointly responsible for meeting capital raising targets as the BIF enters its next phase of growth, and would be “an ambitious mid-level investment professional looking to make the next leap professionally into a more senior role, in a highly entrepreneurial asset management business.”
As investment director of the BIF, the chosen candidate also will represent a new form of funding in the UK during a time of transition.
“Brexit is a challenge for U.K. universities and it threatens to reduce the funding these institutions receive for academic research,” said Hopkin. “The arrival of a new form of funding which makes direct investments into the Best of British Science and Technology has been warmly received by a many of the tech transfer teams up and down the country.”
Compensation connected to the position will have a significant performance-related component, and the chosen candidate will be located either at Milltrust’s London office, or from a home office in one of UK’s main university hubs.
“It’s a significant exercise to get around the whole country and so we have focused on the regional groupings such as Set Squared in the South, the Midlands 8, and the Northern 8 to build formal affiliations,” said Hopkins.
For further information, please contact Mr. Griff Williams, CIO, British Innovation Fund, at griff@milltrust.com or +44(0)208 123 8347.
-Lynda Kiernan