Frontier IP achieves portfolio gains

Commercialisation firm Frontier IP today reported a 43% year-on-year gain in the fair value of its portfolio to £11.5m ($14.7m) at the end of 2018 from $10.8m one year earlier.
In its update for the first half of the 2018-2019 financial year, ended December 2018, Frontier IP said overall turnover had soared 83% year-on-year to $2.8m from $1.6m, as it reaped gains worth approximately $2.7m on the revaluation of its investments.
The performance helped Frontier IP to a $1.7m pre-tax profit for the half, 138% up on the $680,000 profit one year ago, securing shareholders a 172% year-on-year rise in the basic earnings on their investments.
Frontier IP’s finances also appeared to be in good shape, with cash balances of $3.4m at the end of 2018 following a $2.9m placement undertaken by the company in November.
Meanwhile, Matthew White, who joined the firm’s senior management as director of commercialisation in September, was appointed to the board of directors today.
Neil Crabb, chief executive of Frontier IP, argued the results were evidence the firm’s business model had impressed stakeholders. The firm backs emerging technologies through a collection of early-stage intellectual property agreements with institutions including universities both in the UK and abroad.
Last year marked the start of Frontier IP’s foray into Portugal alongside local academic partners. The move has resulted in three spinouts, with the most recent announced in February 2019 in the form of Insignals Neurotech, a surgical guidance spinout of Portuguese Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science.
The Portuguese campaign also includes Universidade Nova de Lisboa-founded paper circuit board technology spinout NTPE and Nova University Lisbon natural solvent chemical developer Des Solutio.
Further down the growth path, Frontier IP-backed Dundee drug discovery technology spinout generated $26m of series B capital from investors including Celgene and Evotec in January, before officially adding Celgene to the roll of clients for its services last week in a collaboration pact worth at least $25m.
Neil Crabb said: “We are mindful of the risks in the group. The nature of the early and development-stage companies in our portfolio means their rate of progress or eventual success cannot always be assured.
“However, these are strong results. We have generated momentum on all fronts – new spinouts, industry partnerships and raising funds from private and public sector sources – during the first half.