IP Group portfolio value rises by £14m

The company, which has a number of Yorkshire businesses within its portfolio, said the share price of quoted companies in its portfolio had been impacted by the generally weaker performance of equity markets but this was offset by the rising value of unquoted companies.

The business, which raised £55m through a placing in June, has stakes in companies including oil exploration company Getech, transport software provider Tracsis and healthcare business Avacta. The business also holds a 19.8 per cent stake in Sheffield-based Fusion IP and has partnership agreements with Leeds University and York University.

It also announced the appointment of former ARM chief financial officer Jonathan Brooks to the board. Non-executive director Roger Brooke, a board member for almost 10 years, is to retire following Mr Brooks’s appointment.

Alan Aubrey, chief executive of IP Group, said: “The first half of 2011 has been a strong period for the group, during which we have significantly strengthened our balance sheet by successfully raising £5m before costs. The Group now has the flexibility to maintain or increase stakes in promising post-seed opportunities whilst also increasing its overall rate of capital deployment.

“At the same time, the underlying performance of companies in the Group’s portfolio during the period has been encouraging. While the share price performance of the quoted companies in the group’s portfolio has been impacted by the generally weaker performance of equity markets during the period, this has been offset by a net gain in the value of the unquoted portfolio.

“The second half of the year has started well with the Group having already recorded more realisations in the eight months to date than in the whole of 2010. We continue to believe that innovation has never been of such importance to the UK economy and that the Group will play an increasingly central role in helping UK innovation to reach the market. Overall, IP Group remains extremely well placed to deliver medium to long-term value for shareholders.”