Investment bank GP Bullhound and commercial property company Bruntwood have come together to form angel investment network Manchester Angels, to invest in technology and life sciences in Manchester.
Manchester Angels will provide startups in the region with entrepreneurs who will mentor them and will invest across different sectors.
“According to Tech Nation’s 2021 Report, over £13bn in investment was raised for UK technology businesses. Yet nearly 60% of that funding went to businesses based in London and the South,” said Ed Prior, vice president, GP Bullhound.
The investment group is targeting 30 Greater Manchester private technology investors to begin, partnering alongside fellow Manchester resident venture capital Praetura Ventures, Northern Gritstone, Octopus Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank and The University of Manchester’s Innovation Factory.
Praetura is no stranger to investing in Manchester life science startups as it recently launched its £20m fund to invest in the sector across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington. It also recently hit the £100m fund milestone.
“With levelling up high on the political agenda, it is essential we build on the work organisations such as the Manchester Tech Trust have done and leverage the success local tech entrepreneurs have had to support the aspirations of the next generation of entrepreneurs to attract investment to the region,” added Prior.
Leading the group is technology entrepreneur David Levine, who previously founded design platform DigitalBridge, now known as Fixtuur, and is a non-executive director for some Manchester-based technology businesses.
Chris Oglesby, Bruntwood’s chief executive said: “Bruntwood and our partners have invested over £1bn into creating a thriving city economy in Manchester and surrounding areas. Supporting Manchester Angels is an important piece of that puzzle to continue the start-up ecosystem’s trajectory.”
Last month Bruntwood’s SciTech division acquired Glasgow’s Met Tower from Osborne & Co for £16.2m to convert it into a new Glasgow hub for tech and digital businesses.
Earlier this year it was revealed that tech startups in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield had raised £1.3bn in funding over the last five years.
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