SETsquared businesses secure £30m of funding in one year

In the last 12 months alone, businesses being incubated by a partnership of five UK universities have raised some £30m in investment.

The figures have been unveiled by SETsquared, a collaboration between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. The organisation partners in enterprise activities and collectively supports the growth and success of new business opportunities through its five incubation centres.

SETsquared’s Partnership Director, Graham Harrison, shared the partnership’s latest success figures with MP David Willetts as he visited Innovate UK this week.

Mr Harrison said: “This is proof that there are opportunities for growth and investment in the UK, despite the widespread pessimism about access to finance. Businesses within our incubation centres, including university spin outs and start-up technology firms, have proven that the opportunities are there for the taking.”

The £30m of investment secured by companies within the SETsquared business incubation programme comes from a range of sources, including angel investors, venture capitalists and government grants.

SETsquared currently supports over 250 high-tech, high-growth potential start-ups across its five incubators. Around 15 per cent of those companies are spin outs from the universities and the rest businesses from the surrounding areas.

Companies within SETsquared’s incubators have a survival rate of 90 per cent after three years, substantially higher than the national average.

Mr Harrison concluded: “It goes to show the vital part business incubators like ourselves have to play in the recovery of the UK economy. Not only are we nurturing the kind of dynamic and innovative technology companies that will spearhead growth, but we are equipping them with the access to investment and survival rates that they need to flourish.”

Earlier this week SETsquared appeared at Innovate UK alongside some of its incubated companies including Crowdcube, iGeolise, Magma Global and Thoughtified.

To find out more about SETsquared visit www.setsquared.co.uk