Fund Raising
IP Group PLC
07 May 2008
PRESS RELEASE 07 MAY 2008
Company behind removable chewing gum technology, Revolymer, raises £10m
IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ('IP Group' or the 'Company' or 'Group'), the UK's
leading university intellectual property commercialisation company, is delighted
to note that Revolymer Limited ('Revolymer'), a spin-out company from the
University of Bristol, has successfully completed a £10 million financing round.
Founded in 2005 and based in Mostyn, Wales, Revolymer is a specialised FMCG
polymer company focused on technology to allow the development of new consumer
products with enhanced physical properties. The new polymers that Revolymer
develops are manufactured from existing polymers allowing a fast track product
introduction.
Revolymer is best known for its 'removable chewing gum', having developed a
polymer technology which has the potential to prevent gum from sticking to
pavements and other surfaces, a problem which costs UK local governments
millions of pounds annually in clean-up charges. Revolymer's technology also has
potential applications in markets including medicated gums, personal care
products and paints and coatings.
Following completion of the financing round, IP Group has an 11.2% beneficial
stake in Revolymer, valued at £3.0 million. Funds managed by Top Technology
Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of IP Group plc, have invested £0.8 million in
the financing. The remaining £9.2 million was raised from institutional and
private investors.
The fundraising will result in a total fair value gain to IP Group of £2.3
million.
For further information, please contact:
IP Group plc 0845 0742929
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer
Liz Vaughan-Adams (Communications) 020 7444 0062/07979853802
Financial Dynamics
Ben Atwell, Rob Bailhache, John Dineen 020 7831 3113
Revolymer Ltd
Roger Pettman, Chief Executive Officer 01745 562301
Publicis Consultants
Liam Clark 020 7462 7758
Carrie-Anne Savage 020 7462 7625
University of Bristol
Caroline Clancy, press officer 0117 928 7777
Notes for Editors
About IP Group
IP Group is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company that
specialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Group
listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It
has made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialise
university intellectual property under a long term contract with the University
of Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to early
stage technology venture capital funds, in 2004.
IP Group has formed long-term partnerships with ten universities - the
University of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, the
University of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, the
University of Southampton, Queen Mary (University of London), the University of
Bath and the University of Glasgow.
The Company's portfolio is diverse with exposure to five main sectors - Energy &
Renewables, Healthcare & Life Sciences: Non-therapeutics, Healthcare & Life
Sciences: Therapeutics, IT & Communications and Chemicals & Materials. To date,
ten portfolio companies have listed on the AIM market of the London Stock
Exchange, one on PLUS Markets and there have been two trade sales. IP Group also
established three 'Modern-themed' subsidiaries - Modern Biosciences, Modern
Water and Modern Waste. Modern Water was the first of these subsidiaries to
float on AIM in June 2007.
For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.
About Revolymer
RevolymerTM Ltd is a specialised FMCG polymer company which focuses on
developing intelligent polymers with enhanced physical properties.
Polymers are used in everyday synthetic items including fabric, rubber and
plastic. A polymer is a substance which is made up of a chain of molecules.
Revolymer was established as a spin-out company in October 2005 after scientists
at the University of Bristol set out to provide a solution to products that had
a secondary detrimental affect such as chewing gum removability.
It was discovered that the use of a polymer can be changed and applied to
existing products to create commercial opportunities.
www.revolymer.com
About the University of Bristol
The University was founded in 1876 as University College, Bristol. It was the
first higher education institution in England to admit women on an equal basis
to men. The University of Bristol is internationally distinguished and one of
the very best universities in the UK dedicated to learning, discovery and
enterprise. It is a world leader in research and a member of the Worldwide
Universities Network and of the Russell Group of universities.
The University has around 12,500 undergraduate and 3,500 postgraduate students.
The University organises its academic affairs in some 45 departments and 15
research centres which are arranged in six faculties.
In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 15 of the University's units of
assessment achieved the top grade of 5* and a further 21 were awarded grade 5.
Thus 36 (78 per cent) of the 46 units of assessment were judged as world class
or of international standing. Seventy-six per cent of the academic staff work
in departments ranked at these levels.
www.bristol.ac.uk
ENDS
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