The £500,000 investment in TeraView, one of the world’s leading innovators of 3D imaging using terahertz light radiation, will assist in the development of a system that aims to produce faster results than X-ray as well as being less harmful. In total the investment round raised approximately £3.5 million.
Meanwhile, the £300,000 investment in Bactest, a Cambridge-based biotech company developing groundbreaking technology to improve wastewater management, will facilitate a partnership with Anglian Water. This will help to develop and test a platform technology known as CYTOMAIA which is used for contamination testing and monitoring microbial activity. In total this funding round raised £900,000.
The Low Carbon Innovation Fund is operated by the University of East Anglia (UEA), which contracted Turquoise International as Fund Managers. Kevin Murphy, of Turquoise International, said: “The team at Mills & Reeve demonstrated their experience and expertise in their advice to us on these funding rounds and have been instrumental in ensuring that the two investments ran as smoothly as possible. To put it simply, they have been a pleasure to work with.”
Richard Harvey, Chair of the Investment Committee at UEA, added: “These two investments are strong additions to our portfolio, thanks to the work of Turquoise International and Mills & Reeve in the preparation of potential investments to bring before our committee.’
The Mills & Reeve team was led by corporate finance partner Zickie Lim, assisted by corporate solicitor Pippa Pearce, as well as specialist technology and employment advisers from the firm’sCambridgeoffice. Zickie commented: “LCIF is providing capital to help genuinely exciting developments in the reduction of carbon emission get off the ground.”
LCIF is a regional venture capital fund which invests in small and medium sized enterprises in the East of England developing low carbon products or services. It is especially interested in those improving processes in an environmentally friendly way in order to reduce carbon emissions. It received £12.5 million of European Regional Development Fund funding which will be matched with over £17 million private sector investments. The Fund runs until December 2015.
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For further information contact:
Zickie Lim, Partner, Corporate Finance, Mills & Reeve
Tel: 01223 222482, zickie.lim@mills-reeve.com
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