UCL Business CEO calls for more investment in university spinouts

👏 A fantastic piece by Anne Lane, CEO of UCL Business Ltd, reminding us of the extraordinary potential of UK research and the enterprising academics driving it forward. 🪜 The UK is home to world-class ideas that can transform healthcare, create jobs, and fuel economic growth. But as Anne highlights, one of the biggest challenges is the first step: turning promising research into prototypes, testing markets, and showing investors that innovations are ready to scale. 🚀 That’s why Proof of Concept (PoC) funding is so vital. It unlocks potential that might otherwise remain in the lab, helping breakthrough ideas onto the commercialisation pathway and giving them the best chance to thrive. 📈 The demand is clear — the recent PoC awards were hugely oversubscribed. Expanding this support means investing in the UK economic growth agenda we all want to succeed. 🌍 With the right support, the next generation of world-changing companies can be discovered here, developed here, and delivered here. 👉 See the full opinion piece here: https://lnkd.in/eZGYiSc7 Knowledge Exchange UK Russell Group of Universities University Alliance (UK) Adam Stoten PhD RTTP Laurence Grafton #UniversityInnovation #LifeSciences #Spinouts #POCFunding #EconomicGrowth

🖋️"The spinout sector across the UK is flourishing; £2.6bn in equity investment in 2024 [...] UCL Business Ltd alone has attracted £3bn in spinout investment over five years, creating over 2,000 jobs across 104 companies."   Writing in The Financial Times, Dr Anne Lane (CEO of UCL Business Ltd) explains how #AI and #lifesciences are converging within universities and hospitals, with viable businesses emerging.   But, she argues, the UK could be doing much more to leverage economic growth from university research. She calls for greater financial support to help ventures to get off the ground, as well as calling on British capital to take risks and be patient for the returns.    Crucially, she says that the NHS must be open to spinouts, so that new clinically proven treatments developed in the UK can reach the patients who need them.   🔗 Read here - https://lnkd.in/eZGYiSc7

Lessons from the 2025 #NobelLaureates in #Economics, in the context of #climatechange. In this interesting article published on Financial Times on the need to create in the wider ecosystem, including in the #climatechange spectrum Powerful incumbent businesses STOP “#creativedestruction” that has driven #modernprosperity. #Bigincumbent companies typically have far less #incentive to create #disruptiveinnovations than younger, smaller ones. Government interventions are essential to support a #greenstrain of #creativedestruction in #lowcarbon industries https://lnkd.in/dcSA6-Sw

Dr Anne Lane, CEO of UCL Business Ltd, explains why she is optimistic about the role of the UK’s life sciences sector in driving growth.   In The Financial Times, she shows that the UK is a leader in commercialising health innovations. But a spinout boom needs proof-of-concept funding, scale-up capital, and reformed NHS procurement.   We were pleased to work with Anne ahead of what promises to be a defining moment for innovation policy. 👉 Read here: https://lnkd.in/ePwYGrnV

The market reacts to headlines; investors should respond to fundamentals. Staying anchored in long-term convictions is the best way to avoid being distracted by short-term noise. #finance #economy #FinanceCareers #InternshipOpportunities #Students #FutureLeaders #business #stayinvested

Ensuring mobility for global scientific talent. This Financial Times article shows the UK is an expensive place for the international researcher and student talent that enhances science in universities and companies. Plans for an international student levy could make that even worse...    Our Government needs to address this as part of action to address the financial sustainability of teaching and research in higher education and ensure top scientific talent continues to find the UK an attractive destination.   We would welcome the reintroduction of maintenance grants for poorer students, to widen participation in Higher Education. We strive for a diverse and inclusive chemistry profession and more support for chemistry students from lower socio-economic backgrounds would support participation.    However, we are very concerned by the risks that an international student levy poses as a possible way to fund this commitment and for university finances. The levy is expected to impact overseas student numbers and place additional pressure on university finances. This may undermine ambitions to widen access10 and increase the risk posed to higher cost provision as universities seek further savings.    Existing financial pressures have already led to a reduction of chemistry provision in the UK increasing the number of chemistry cold spots with 11 closures announced in recent years. https://lnkd.in/ebRwJyBq

https://lnkd.in/dnU_Stew Private equity group CVC has struck a deal to buy into an international schools group at a €7bn valuation, more than triple what it was worth four years ago. The buyout firm is taking a 20 per cent stake in International Schools Partnership (ISP) alongside majority owner Partners Group of Switzerland, in the latest in a string of billion-dollar deals for private education companies. Neither of the private capital groups disclosed the financial terms of the deal but a person familiar with the terms said it valued ISP at €7bn including debt, compared with €1.9bn when Canadian pension plan Omers took a minority stake in 2021. Buyout firms have rolled up private schools into giant global groups with sticky revenues that help garner rich valuations. Parents’ desire to secure the best possible education for their children means that they can be reluctant to cut it short even in the face of rising costs or an economic downturn. Although the market for private education in countries such as the UK and US is mature, private equity-backed groups have found ample opportunities for international expansion, including in the Middle East. Partners Group set up ISP in 2013 with the chain’s management team, and the company has proceeded to buy up more than 100 schools in 25 countries — including 61 since bringing in Omers. Omers will retain a minority interest in ISP after the latest deal completes. Other recent deals include New-York based Neuberger Berman’s investment in EQT-backed Nord Anglia last year, which valued it at $14.5bn, and a Brookfield-led transaction in June 2024 for Dubai-based Gems Education. Earlier this year Blackstone and CVC had also reached the final stages of a sale process for a stake in UK schools chain Cognita, which would have valued it at about €6bn. However, the Financial Times reported in August that the deal was on the brink of collapse following the Labour government’s introduction of a tax on private school fees. “ISP is one of our proudest achievements as a private equity platform,” said Andrew Deaken, a partner at Partners Group. “We started with just an idea, a team, and a thematic conviction that the global education market would continue to grow . . . The tailwinds driving our growth are strong.” Partners Group and CVC said the next phase of growth would involve adding further schools to the chain, investing in developing its own in-house teaching technology and spending on infrastructure. Jan Reinier Voûte, co-head of CVC Strategic Opportunities, the fund that will be making the investment, said “the K-12 sector [schooling for children between 5 and 18 years], and ISP in particular, is an excellent fit for our strategic opportunities strategy, which focuses on supporting value creation in long-term partnership investments”.

Private equity continues to play a defining role in the education sector - and CVC’s recent investment in International Schools Partnership Limited (ISP) shows just how active the market remains. The Financial Times reports that CVC has acquired a significant stake in ISP, at triple its 2021 valuation. This deal highlights broader trends we’re seeing across PE-backed education: consolidation, international expansion, and increasingly professionalised finance functions. Key themes across the sector include: ▫️ Scalable, high-quality platforms with strong governance and reporting frameworks ▫️ Investor appetite for education assets with global reach and resilient demand ▫️ Operational complexity driving demand for experienced financial leadership As the sector evolves, finance teams are central to sustaining growth - balancing commercial ambition with educational integrity. https://lnkd.in/ei54Csp3

Excellent article in today's Financial Times by Amy Borrett and Michael Peel on the need to fix systemic R&D weakness in the UK. #profitwithpurpose

Populism is bad for business — and for entrepreneurship. Interesting read this morning in the Financial Times. Martin Wolf warns that when countries fall into the populist trap — pitting “the people” against “the elites” and undermining independent institutions — the damage extends far beyond politics. It hits the economic foundations that entrepreneurs and CEOs rely on: trust, rule of law, investor confidence, and policy stability. Based on the academic paper “Populist Leaders and the Economy” by Manuel Funke , Moritz Schularick and Christoph Trebesch, Wolf’s analysis shows that countries experiencing populist rule often suffer lasting economic scars — with GDP per capita significantly lower even years later. 👉 For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the message is clear: Institutional integrity isn’t a luxury. It’s the bedrock of innovation, investment, and sustainable growth. A timely reminder that the strength of our entrepreneurial ecosystems depends not only on founders and investors — but also on the quality of our institutional governance. Vlerick Business School Vlerick Entrepreneurship Academy