Browne Jacobson advises on BGF investment in Nottingham's BioCity

Browne Jacobson has advised BGF on its investment in Nottingham life sciences incubator BioCity. The investment has also been supported by Blue Skies Investments (BSI).

The investment will be used to support existing established business at BioCity and graduates of its Accelerator Programme which assists entrepreneurs develop their ideas into scalable businesses.

BioCity was established in 2003 and is one of the largest bioscience incubators in Europe, offering early stage businesses operating in the life sciences sector access to high end commercial premises, state of the art laboratories and business services and support.

BGF is the most active and influential investor in small and mid-sized businesses in the UK, with £2.5bn to support a range of growing companies – early stage, growth stage and quoted – across every region and sector of the economy. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. Operating through a 14 office regional network BGF has invested over £1.6bn of capital in 239 companies.

This latest investment is BGF’s fourth life sciences investment since June 2018, following investments in pharmaceutical research and development company Arcinova, protein analytics business Fluidic Analytics and remote diagnostics business genedrive.

Jonathan Earl, BGF investor, comments: “We’re excited to be making another investment in the UK’s thriving life sciences sector. BioCity provides a unique platform for many high potential companies, giving them the support and facilities to grow and thrive. It’s also uniquely placed to invest in some of its resident companies, knowing the businesses and their management teams extremely well.

“This deal allows us not only to invest in the growth and development of BioCity, but it also extends our reach into younger, earlier stage companies in the life science industry. We are backing a team with a deep understanding of the market and a strong industry network – we’re looking forward to working with them to further support the life sciences industry in the UK.”

The Browne Jacobson team was led by Kirk Glenn supported by private equity partner, Gareth Davies.

Gareth Davies, private equity partner, added: “The UK is a truly global leader in life sciences thanks to initiatives such as BioCity. We were delighted to advise BGF on their latest investment in a critical sector for both the local and national economy.”