A university spin-out that is aiming to create lab-grown meat, leather and other items has announce plans to raise £15m to support its growth.
Listed Newcastle firm BSF Enterprise is planning to work with Blackstone Mercantile Group on what it said would be a “significant milestone for BSF in the execution of its growth strategy, providing the capital required to accelerate the commercialisation of its core cutting-edge technologies in lab-grown leather, corneal repair, and culture media supplements for cells and engineered tissues.”
The proposed funding would support BSF’s work in lab-grown leather, which it is planning to showcase next year. The company said the funding would also allow it to expand commercial partnerships, strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, and support the recruitment and retention of key scientific, commercial, and operational staff.
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Around £500,000 of the funds would be deployed into BSF’s corneal repair subsidiary company, Kerato, alongside a grant from the Canadian government to undertake scientific trials. There would also be financial support for 3D Bio-Tissues’ for work in the food sector.
BSF said it was also “actively engaged in discussions with target companies” and viewed strategic acquisitions and joint ventures as a key part of its growth strategy.
CEO Che Connon said: “We are hugely excited by the potential Blackstone Mercantile Group’s investment provides to BSF’s subsidiary companies. The funds will accelerate the commercial and technological roadmaps of LGL, Kerato and 3DBT and will support their further independent fundraising activities during 2026.
“In addition, they provide the resources to allow BSF to deliver against its strategic goals to acquire, invest in, or enter joint ventures with promising complementary companies to expedite their development and time-to-market. We look to the future with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.”
An announcement to the Stock Market outlines how BSF hopes to raised £5m in prepaid warrants and up to £10m in cash warrants. An accompanying 12:1 share consolidation has also been put out for shareholder approval.
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Chairman Geoff Baker said: “The investment is expected to prove transformative to the strategic development of BSF. It will provide the capital required to accelerate the commercialisation of our subsidiary companies’ core cutting-edge technologies in lab-grown leather, cultivated meat and corneal repair. At the same time, it will support the subsidiaries’ independent, non-dilutive, fundraising activities during 2026.
“At a group level funds will also be used to bolster our marketing activities; provide the firepower to make potential acquisitions of companies complementary to our business model; cover our foreseeable working capital requirements; and will add considerable liquidity to our stock. We look forward to this next chapter of the company’s development and to fulfilling our commercial and technological roadmap.”