London-based merchant bank Turquoise International has announced that its Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF) has been fully deployed following a raft of final investments made in the closing months of 2015.
The fund was launched in 2010 and has targeted environmentally focused small and medium-sized enterprises in the East of England with investment. Turquoise’s fund has now been fully invested, with £18.5 million deployed across 23 companies in addition to a smaller fund regulated by the Universtity of East Anglia which was used offer smaller investmenmts.
The final ten investment rounds in the second half of 2015 contributed £2.6 million to a total of £11.2 million raised by portfolio companies, with funding awarded to a range of technologies including LED lighting and low carbon transportation.
Kevin Murphy, director at Turquoise, which manages the fund, said: “We are delighted that LCIF has invested in such a broad and interesting mixture of businesses. From renewable energy to LED lighting, sustainable packaging to transport solutions, many of the companies are already delivering tangible commercial impact in their respective fields and demonstrating a bright future for environmentally friendly innovation.”
The LCIF has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which provides the cash to the University of Easy Anglia to be managed by Turquoise. The fund is part of the governments’ Solutions for Business portfolio of business support products and has been supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
A spokesperson for Turquoise International said the organisation “would love there to be another fund” but one has not yet been planned following the recent closure of the LCIF.
