A Scottish investment group for university spin-out companies has reported a strong year of progress with with impressive rises in its revenue, profit and investment portfolio.
Edinburgh-based Frontier IP has invested in a number of companies that emerged from research at Dundee and St Andrews University.
In the 12 months to June 2016 its total revenue rose by 27% to £2 million.
Profit before tax leapt 75% to £1.1m, and the value of the investment portfolio was up 65% at £4.6m.
Frontier IP’s market value currently stands at just over £10.5m. Cash balances at the end of June stood at £771,000, up from £636,000.
The AIM-listed specialist asset management group helps universities and research organisations to commercialise the intellectual property arising from their research.
The Dundee and St Andrews spin-outs it has supported include ADUS Deep Ocean, Ex Scientia, Glycobiochem, Circa Connect, Rapid Quality Systems, and Kinetic Discovery.
The year saw Dundee’s Ex Scientia secure a partnership with with German company Evotec AG.
Frontier IP also signed a commercialisation agreement with Evora University in Portugal, and has since added one with Universidade Nova in Lisbon.
Chief executive Neil Crabb stated: “The group is making good progress in line with its strategy.
“I am particularly pleased to report the growth in the value of our portfolio.
“We have expanded our network of universities and have increased the size of the equity stakes we are entitled to receive.
“Our pipeline continues to  show healthy expansion which we expect to convert to growth in our core portfolio in the current financial year.
“We are also seeing strong commercial progress in our existing core portfolio, together building the potential for further uplift in value.”
Chairman Andrew Richmond said Brexit had potentially created more volatility in financial markets and academic institutions concerned about potential impact on research funding.
He believed there may be opportunity with universities looking to diversify their income streams by increasing their commercialisation activity.
He considered intellectual property should remain unaffected where the European patent system is not part of EU law.
There had also been no suggestion that the UK will leave the European Patent Convention which governs European patents and applications.
