Microbiosensor Secures £1.4m Worth of Equity Finance

Microbiosensor is pleased to announce it has secured £1.4m worth of equity finance in the 100th deal completed by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), co-investing with the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Life Sciences Fund.

The transaction was made through private equity firms Maven Capital Partners and Catapult Ventures.

The investment from NPIF, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, will give Microbiosensor the capital needed to take its products, namely disposable point-of-care medical devices for the early diagnosis of microbial infections, through critical development and clinical trial phases and bring them to market.

Microbiosensor CEO Dr Gordon Barker said: “We’re delighted to be working with the teams at Maven and Catapult Ventures. This investment will be transformational for the company, funding the pivotal clinical trials we need to take our first medical device product to market.”

Maven investment manager Gavin Bell commented: “Microbiosensor is developing innovative solutions for large global healthcare end-markets with interesting dynamics, including a clear need for technological enhancement and efficiencies. We are delighted to support this highly skilled management team to execute their growth strategy and vision.”

Catapult Ventures life science partner Gareth King commented, “We were attracted to Microbiosensor by the depth of experience of its management team and the simplicity of their technology that is well proven and ideally suited for its target applications for the detection of early stage bacterial infections.”

NPIF is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Press contact:
Christina Ong, MC2
ChristinaO@thisismc2.com
0161 236 1352

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund
• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will invest in Microfinance, Business Loans and Equity Finance sub-funds which will offer financing ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK’s national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity,
• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company.
• NPIF covers the following LEP areas: Tees Valley Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Humber, Leeds City Region, Sheffield City Region, York, North Yorkshire and East Riding
• The project is receiving up to £140,359,192 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
• The funds in which Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and Tees Valley.
• The British Business Bank has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). The guide, which impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses and provides links to support available at a regional level, is available at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb