Northern Gritstone has taken in £20 million of new ordinary share commitments in the first close of a year-long rolling round, with the British Business Bank putting in £10 million as cornerstone investor. The deal, announced this morning, lifts the Leeds-based deeptech and life sciences firm's permanent capital from £362 million to £382 million, and takes the Bank's total commitment to £40 million.
Other participants in this close include Andrew Law, chief executive of hedge fund Caxton Associates, alongside existing shareholders topping up their positions. Northern Gritstone said the round marks the start of a broader 2026 capital-raising programme. No target figure has been disclosed.
Active since May 2022, the firm backs spinouts from the Northern Arc — the universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield — which between them generate close to £800 million of research funding a year, 92% of it rated world-leading or internationally excellent. It has made 51 investments to date, covering semiconductor design and manufacture, novel materials, secure computing, AI, healthtech and gene therapies. The Bank frames the Northern Arc alongside Oxford, Cambridge and London as the UK's "Technology Diamond".
We are very grateful for this further support from the British Business Bank and Andrew Law to continue developing global businesses in the North of England originating from our 'Northern Arc' university ecosystem. In this way, investors are contributing to future higher value-added activity and the North's productivity
This strong start to Northern Gritstone's rolling close in today's challenging fundraising environment shows the belief in innovation coming from the North of England. The region is now an integral part of the UK's Technology Diamond, and we are proud to support the incredible talent of the North, helping to commercialise groundbreaking research into internationally commercial businesses.
The UK's universities are a powerhouse of breakthrough research, and Northern Gritstone plays a vital role in transforming world-class research from the North of England into high-potential, IP-rich businesses. Our increased commitment reflects the Bank's ambition to scale life sciences and deeptech businesses, which are critical to the UK's future growth.
Between 2022 and 2024, the British Business Bank backed 24% of all UK university spinout deals.
