On-campus VC firm Campus Capital partners with Lancaster University

by Startacus Admin

Lancaster University has signed a partnership with venture capital firm, Campus Capital, to bring investment to the region and further strengthen Lancashire’s startup ecosystem.

Campus Capital is an external-facing, UK based on-campus VC (Venture Capital) firm and builds early stage, growth focused investment funds for some of the country’s leading universities.

Campus Capital will aim to invest between £50k-200k in early-stage, high-growth potential companies, both on and off campus. All companies within the Lancashire region will be eligible to pitch, not just those run by students, graduates and staff. 

These funds are uniquely part-run by active students with the guidance and supervision of the Campus Capital board. Its unique structure enables it to be part of the fabric of each university and to nurture entrepreneurial talent before making any investment. University partnerships include The University of Sheffield, University of Manchester and now Lancaster University. 

Michael Howe, founding partner of Campus Capital says the firm has always had an external focus, receiving the majority of pitches from companies that have no link to their partner universities.

He said: “There are a lot of investable companies already out there in the region so this isn’t about helping to create new startups. Our focus is on making sure these existing startups who are already doing great things get the investment they need to scale. Our connection with world-renowned universities such as Lancaster makes us particularly well-placed to support companies within the science and technology sectors.”

The on-campus element of Campus Capital is an experiential learning programme that involves teams of Student Venture Capitalists part-running some of the early aspects of the fund pipeline. Once trained, these Student VCs make many of the early investment decisions and gain valuable experience in assessing and analysing a company’s investment-readiness. They receive ongoing mentoring from Campus Capital’s partners and its wider support network of seasoned investors. 

Jon Powell, Head of Enterprise and Innovation Services said:

“We are delighted to join forces with Campus Capital and build on our fantastic links with regional businesses by bringing much needed investment into the Lancashire economy. Lancaster University has a pivotal role to play in supporting innovation. We want to develop employable graduates and the graduate employers of tomorrow as well as supporting businesses through consultancy, joint research and co-location. Now we can support direct investment into those businesses with growth potential.” 

This new partnership should shine even more of a spotlight on the entrepreneurial activity taking place in Lancashire, and increase opportunities for those companies to collaborate with the university, and stay and grow in the region.

Campus Capital will open to Lancashire-based startups in the New Year, although companies who are considering fundraising within the next six months are encouraged to get in touch sooner.  

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Published on: 18th October 2017