Venture capital outfit Par Equity has launched offices in Leeds and Sheffield amid an expansion across the North.
The Edinburgh-based firm says it has established the bases on the back of recent investment in firms such as Washington-based AEM, Lancaster's Fuuse, Manchester-based SamsonVT, and Teesside-based Nova Pangaea Technologies. And now it wants to expand its portfolio across the North, providing funding and scaling opportunities to start-ups and scale-ups in Yorkshire and beyond.
Par says it will work with the likes of the Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network and the Sheffield-based National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT). Since its inception in 2008, the B Corp-certified firm has invested almost £160m into 77 early-stage technology companies.
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Leading the expansion is Giles Moore as regional development manager. The Sheffield entrepreneur has launched and scaled a handful of tech companies in Yorkshire. He said: “Having been involved in Yorkshire start-ups and scale-ups for over a decade, I have seen, first hand, all the challenges this region faces, in addition to the opportunities and developments that have arisen over that time.
"In this region, we don’t shout about our successes and therefore can go unnoticed to the outside world. This, however, is a very exciting period for the region. It is still underserved from a funding perspective, which is where I believe Par Equity can make a big impact."
Since 2020, Par Equity has been working with British Business Investments as part of its Regional Angels Programme. In total, British Business Investments has awarded £23m of funding to Par Equity which has been supplemented by £60m of capital from Par Equity.
Judith Hartley, CEO, British Business Investments, said: “Par Equity was one of the first delivery partners of the Regional Angels Programme. Their track record of delivering realised returns and their ability to source opportunities beyond Scotland has continued since then. We welcome Par’s expansion into Yorkshire, where we believe they will find an abundance of exciting new companies to invest into. It will also help raise the profile of angel investing in the region.“
