Funding round to accelerate revenue generation at Phase Focus

PHASE Focus, a portfolio company of university spin-out specialist Fusion IP, has raised £3.2m in an equity-based funding round.

The aim of the funding round, which is being led by Ombu Group with an investment of £3m, is to accelerate revenue generation of the Sheffield-based firm’s nanotech imaging and microscopy technology, the Phase Focus Virtual Lens.

Fusion IP, which is also based in Sheffield, invested £220,000 in the round and as a result its shareholding is 34 per cent.

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According to Fusion, the Phase Focus Virtual Lens has the potential to enable a ‘step change’ in imaging and microscopy, by eliminating the limitations and imperfections of conventional lenses. The technology transfers the task of image creation from a lens to a computer programme.

Dr Ian Pykett, chief executive of Phase Focus, said: “We are delighted to welcome such a prestigious new investor and the skills and experience that Ombu will bring to our management team. This substantial new investment recognises the successes we have had in generating revenues and commercial traction in the markets we have already entered.

“More importantly, it allows us not only to grow these current opportunities more rapidly, but also to exploit several new technology developments, and to address in parallel a number of new markets to which we believe our technology will bring great user value.”

Stephen Brooke, chief executive of investment company Ombu Group, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to partner with a company with remarkable technology that has just broken through into its full commercial phase.

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“We had tracked Phase Focus for a few years before now and had always been amazed by the technology, so it is great to be able to back a team we have seen deliver and support them as they seek to grow their business.”

The company is the fourth UK advanced technology company Ombu has backed since its launch in May 2011.

David Baynes, chief executive of Fusion IP, said: “This is a step change for the company and one that will transform commercialisation of the company’s revolutionary technology.”

The Virtual Lens is already being used in a number of applications such as commercial contact lens measurement and laboratory based cell analysis.

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Fusion IP was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated intellectual property. It currently owns shareholdings in more than 20 portfolio companies, including Phase Focus, Seren, Magnomatics and MedaPhor.

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