15 March 2023

Frontier IP Group plc

("Frontier IP", the "Group" or the "Company")

Board changes

Frontier IP (AIM:FIPP), a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, announces: 

·    the appointment of Nigel Grierson and Dr David Holbrook as independent Non-Executive Directors with effect from 15 March 2023.

·    the appointment of Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, DBE FREng FRS FMedSci, currently an independent Non-Executive Director, as Senior Independent Director with effect from 15 March 2023. 

·    that Dr Campbell Wilson, currently a Non-Executive Director, has notified the Group that he has decided to step down from his non-executive role at Frontier IP during April 2023 having served on the Board for nearly nine years.

Nigel Grierson has 20 years' operating experience in the IT industry with positions in product development, marketing, and senior management, and, as Managing Director of venture capital funds managing investments of over $500 million in 70 technology start-up companies across Europe. Nigel's early career was in product development; designing semiconductors for the telecom industry, process control systems for the automotive industry, and navigation/telemetry systems for the offshore oil exploration industry.

Nigel was a co-Managing Director of the Doughty Hanson Technology Fund, established in 2000, which was part of Doughty Hanson Private Equity Partners. Between 1984 and 2000, he held senior roles at Intel Corporation between becoming Co-Director EMEA for Intel Capital Group, developing and leading a team to establish Intel as a leading corporate technology investor. Nigel ran strategic programmes working directly for Intel's then Chief Executive Officer Dr Andrew Grove and Chief Operating Officer Dr Craig Barrett. Nigel is FCA qualified to run controlled functions and is an alumnus of the INSEAD Fontainbleau Advanced Management Program.

Dr David Holbrook is a leading healthcare technology investment professional with 30 years' experience in the life sciences sectors. He has sat on more than 20 boards of directors during his career. David is currently a non-executive director at AIM quoted Oxford BioDynamics plc, where he also chairs the audit committee. He is also a senior advisor to digital health investor RYSE Asset Management and Chairman of The Liver Group Charity based at The Royal Free Hospital. David was also previously a General Partner/Venture Partner for MTI Ventures LLP. David has a 40 year history in the healthcare space, firstly as a physician and then in senior business development roles with Glaxo, Roche and in biotech. He has spent the last 25 years specialising in the innovation space with much of that time in seed venture investing focused primarily on university spin outs.

David was also senior independent director, audit committee member and chair of the nominations committee to The Worldwide Healthcare Trust plc, a leading investment trust. He also spent three years establishing and managing the inaugural seed fund at LifeArc. David has degrees from Oxford (English), King's London (Medicine) and Harvard (MBA).

David and Nigel will both join the Company's audit and remuneration committees on appointment and David will become Chair of the audit committee.

Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, joined the Frontier IP Board of Directors in October 2021 as an independent Non-Executive Director and will, with effect from today following the appointments of Nigel and David, assume the role of Senior Independent Director on the board.

The Company also announces that Dr Campbell Wilson, currently a Non-Executive Director, has notified the Group that, having served on the Board for nearly nine years, he has decided to step down from his non-executive role at Frontier IP. Campbell will be stepping down from the board of Frontier IP in April 2023, but will continue to support the Group in an advisory capacity with selected portfolio companies.

Neil Crabb, Chief Executive Officer of Frontier IP Group plc, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Nigel and David to our Board of Directors. Their extensive experience in technologies across sectors such as semiconductors and life sciences, and in working with early-stage technology companies will prove invaluable to the Group as commercialise and scale up our portfolio companies.

I would also very much like to thank Campbell for his support over the past nine years. His role has proved vital to helping us develop, and I am delighted that he will continue to be involved with the Group once he has stepped down from the Board."

Further regulatory disclosures

The following additional information is provided in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule Two Paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

David Mark Anthony Holbrook, age 62, owns no ordinary shares in the Company and is, or has during the last five years, been a director or partner of the following companies and partnerships:

David Holbrook was a director of Eykona Medical Limited, which went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 10 December 2013. The company was dissolved on 14 May 2018 with a deficiency to unsecured creditors of approximately £1.79 million.

Nigel Peter Grierson, age 67, owns no ordinary shares in the Company and is, or has during the last five years, been a director or partner of the following companies and partnerships:

Nigel Grierson was a director of Deepstream Technologies Limited from 17 March 2004 to 30 June 2010. Deepstream Technologies Limited entered administration on 12 June 2009. Deepstream Technologies Limited was liquidated 15 March 2011. The estimated deficiency to creditors as at 10 December 2010 was £826,274.

Enquiries

ABOUT FRONTIER IP

Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong intellectual property and accelerating its development through a range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of development to ensure technology meets real world demands and needs.

The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration with relevant industry partners at an early stage of development.