UCL eyes $126m second fund

University College London (UCL) is aiming to raise between £75m and £100m ($95m and $126m) for a second UCL Technology Fund, Business Insider reported on Tuesday.
Like its predecessor, the vehicle will be co-managed by UCL’s tech transfer office, UCL Business (UCLB), and AlbionVC, the venturing arm of investment firm Albion Capital.
The fund’s limited partners have not been named yet, however they are thought to include corporates, financial institutions, sovereign wealth fund and private investors.
UK government-owned investment bank British Business Bank is being considered as a replacement for the EU-owned European Investment Fund (EIF), which has suspended new UK commitments following the country’s decision to pursue Brexit.
EIF had contributed approximately $35m to UCL’s first $70m fund, a sum matched by Imperial Innovations, the tech transfer office of Imperial College London now owned by commercialisation firm IP Group. Albion had also committed to the first fund.
The vehicle has achieved a series of exits including natural language technology developer Bloomsbury AI, which joined social media network Facebook for an undisclosed sum in July 2018, and gene therapy developer MeiraGTx, which raised $75m in its initial public offering the same month.
UCL Technology Fund was also involved in GUV’s award for Deal of the Year 2018, having backed a $110m series B round for genetics spinout Orchard Therapeutics in December 2017. Orchard went public following a $200m IPO two months ago.
Anna Lane, executive director of UCLB, said: “The fund has been successful because of its unique investment approach and clear, transparent and supportive processes. We are proud that its early success has meant we need to consider another fund.”
Global University Venturing previously interviewed David Grimm about the fund and ranked Grimm and his fellow fund manager Simon Goldman in the top 25 of the inaugural GUV Powerlist.