Innovations leads £5m Series A round in Aqdot

RNS REACH

8 February 2016

Imperial Innovations Group plc

Innovations leads £5m Series A round in encapsulation specialist Aqdot

Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'the Group', 'Innovations') has led a £5.0 million Series A funding round in portfolio company Aqdot Limited ('Aqdot' or the 'Company') the Cambridge (UK) based specialist chemical company.

Innovations has committed £3.0 million to the round alongside Cambridge Enterprise, Parkwalk Advisors and Providence Investment Company. Innovations first invested in the Company in November 2013 and has now invested a total of £4.6 million. As a result of this investment, Innovations will now hold a 46.5% (non-diluted) interest in the Company.

Aqdot operates in the rapidly growing encapsulation market, currently valued at £4 billion. Its proprietary technologies encapsulate and protect valuable active products (cargos) in a variety of settings. Uniquely, using a variety of triggers, this enables the release of cargos when and where the customer requires.

Aqdot is now engaged with customers across a number of sectors. Initially the Company is focusing on household products, fragrances and niche industrial applications. Future potential applications include agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Kelsey Lynn Skinner, Director Technology Ventures at Innovations said:

"Aqdot has taken significant steps forward since the last funding round in particular in customer engagement and application-specific technology development.

"Aqdot has a strong team in place, and we are proud to lead this Series A round alongside our co-investors to enable the continued execution of the strategy."

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Notes to editors

About Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

Imperial Innovations Group plc ("Innovations") creates, builds and invests in pioneering technology companies and licensing opportunities developed from outstanding scientific research from the 'Golden Triangle', the geographical region broadly bounded by London, Cambridge and Oxford. This area has an unrivalled cluster of outstanding academic research and technology businesses, and is home to four of the world's top 10 universities, as well as leading research institutions, the cream of the UK's science and technology businesses and many of its leading investors.

Innovations supports scientists and entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas, through the licensing of intellectual property, by leading the formation of new companies, by recruiting high-calibre management teams and by providing investment and encouraging co-investment. Innovations remains an active investor over the life of its portfolio companies, with the majority of Innovations' investment going into businesses in which it is already a shareholder.

Since becoming a public company in 2006, Innovations has raised more than £346.0 million of equity from investors, which has enabled it to invest in some of the most exciting spin-outs to come out of UK academic research. In addition, the Group has agreed £80.0 million in loan facilities from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Between Innovations' admission to AIM (August 2006) and 31 July 2015, Innovations has invested a total of £236.8 million across its portfolio companies, which have raised collectively investment of £1.3 billion.

About Aqdot - www.aqdot.com

Aqdot is a specialist chemical company based in Cambridge (UK). The Company specialises in developing and commercialising disruptive encapsulation technologies that enable valuable actives (cargos) to be protected, delivered and released when required.

In this modern age we interact with encapsulated products throughout our day, be it the materials and fuels in our transportation, flavourings in our food, fragrances in our toiletries or the medicines we take. To date the challenge has been in triggering encapsulation systems to release their cargo when the customer needs them. For example, the release of stain removing enzymes from a biological washing detergent in low temperature washes. It is this unique proprietary capability that Aqdot's platform technology delivers.

This approach enables Aqdot's customers to increase product effectiveness, introduce novel and differentiated brands, reduce manufacturing costs and positively impact the environment. Originally spun out of Cambridge University, Aqdot is currently focused in developing products in the household, fragrance and niche industrial sectors. Future potential applications include agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.