A finance firm has opened a new office in Birmingham city centre.
DSW Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of business advisory group Dow Schofield Watts, has opened a new base in the Cubo facility in Two Chamberlain Square.
It said the new office was as a direct response to the West Midlands' rapidly expanding tech sector and in particular innovation emerging from its universities.
DSW Ventures has previously supported spinouts from University of Birmingham, Aston University and University of Warwick.
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The Birmingham office is led by Mira Androniciuc who said: "The Midlands is a hotbed of innovation and I am incredibly excited to be leading DSW Ventures' presence here.
"The quality of research coming out of our universities and the entrepreneurial spirit of the local tech community is impressive.
"We are seeing a new wave of innovation emerge and DSW Ventures is committed to providing the capital and expertise they need to scale globally."
Partner Keith Benson added: "Despite being a North West-founded firm, our investment philosophy has always been to support the best founders and technologies across all the nations and regions of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
"When we looked at locations for our first boots-on-the-ground presence outside of Manchester, the Midlands was an obvious choice.
"The strength of the West Midlands region, combined with the quality of the innovation coming from its universities and software ecosystems, made it the perfect location for us to double down on our commitment to technology in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's nations and regions."
Inward investment agency West Midlands Growth Company supported DSW Ventures with its move into the city.
Birmingham City Council leader Cllr John Cotton said: "DSW Ventures' decision to open its new º£½ÇÊÓƵ office in Birmingham is a further vote of confidence in our city, reinforcing its rise as a globally competitive £15 billion tech hub.
"It will also help us to maintain our strong track record in nurturing innovation by providing pioneering university spinouts with much-needed access to finance. Scale-up success starts here."
