Norwich Research Park has launched a new angel investment programme to encourage potential high-growth, early-stage companies to set-up or relocate to East Anglia.

Norwich Research Park has launched a new angel investment programme to encourage potential high-growth, early-stage companies to set-up or relocate to East Anglia. 

The Venta angel initiative, which is backed by the business angel network Cambridge Capital Group, aims to raise the profile of the park by highlighting the location’s access to London, as well as the accessibility of the Genome Analysis Centre. The centre specialises in genomics and bioinformatics, with focus on interpretation of data to enable and drive the use of bioscience in research and industry.

Among the Norwich-based entrepreneurs who pitched for angel funding during an open investor day this month included Thomas Haizel, from Anglia DNA, and Jerry Walker, chief executive of Intelligent Fingerprinting. Both the companies are based at the research park.

Walter Herriot, chair of Norwich Research Park’s Enterprise from Innovation Board, says, ‘The Norwich Research Park is a world-leading centre for research in areas such as food, diet and health, and plant science, with the wider environmental expertise in earth and life systems. The focus over the next ten years is to create new jobs by maximising the commercial potential of this intellectual property and attracting inward investment.’

Norwich Research Park has a primary focus on research work in developing foods with enhanced nutritional values. The initiative aims to attract companies with technologies that offer new ways to exploit this research has the potential to open up new commercial opportunities.

Helen Lewis, director of research and enterprise services at the University of East Anglia, which is supporting the initiative, says, ‘The university is working hard to support academics – and indeed our students – in developing their own businesses to put into practice the research and innovation under way on campus.’

Struan McDougall, chief executive of the Cambridge Capital Group, adds, ‘Members of group are committed to backing the best high-potential technology businesses from the region. Venta provides the opportunity for science-based businesses to receive valuable feedback from the investor community and for investors to discover the exciting prospects coming out of the East of England.’