An north west investment and mentorship firm for start-ups backed by ex-Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy has opened its second office in Manchester.
Nova, which has an office in Liverpool, has opened an office at Accelerated Places on Princess Street to help tech start-ups in the city get off the ground.
Nova was launched by serial entrepreneur and investor Andy Davidson, and is backed by Mr Leahy and founder of the William Currie Group, Bill Currie.
Mr Davidson said Manchester’s “stellar reputation for generating entrepreneurial ideas” made the opening an “obvious next step”.
He said: “We know from our own collective experience in business that the North West is a region brimming with talent and opportunity.
“We launched Nova to help unlock that potential by supporting people and teams who have great ideas which solve tangible problems for identifiable markets.”
The Manchester operation is being led by Nova’s head of partnerships Andy Dean.
Mr Dean said: “Manchester provides the perfect ecosystem for what we do because it’s very pro start-up, has plenty of tech expertise, and a supportive infrastructure.
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“We see that where we’re based at Accelerate Places, where there are some fascinating technology-driven businesses already on that scale-up journey.”
Nova has invested in more than 70 tech start-ups since its inception, it said
Its Manchester investments include Menuguru.co.uk, which provides online tools to help eating out easier for people with food allergies and intolerances, and Connected Creatives, which improves literacy standards among young people by enabling them to self-publish their own creative writing.
It is also backing Manchester-based online investment comparison platform Jammtoday.