AIM: FIPP
8 February 2016
Frontier IP Group Plc
("Frontier IP" or the "Group")
Agreement with first Portuguese University - Evora University
Frontier IP, which specialises in the commercialisation of intellectual property, is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with the Universidade de Évora, Portugal ("Évora" or the "University") to assist with the spin-off and licensing activities emerging from its research programmes.
The agreement with Évora is the first to be established by the Group with a university outside of the UK. Frontier IP and Évora, which has a leading reputation in Energy, Environment, Materials and Agriculture, will work together to maximise the commercial value of intellectual property ("IP") developed within or owned by the University. Frontier IP will receive a share of the equity in each spin-off company created by the University, as well as a share in the licensing revenue it receives.
Portugal has a strong research base in certain key sectors relevant to the Group's activity, in particular in sustainable energy and food and agriculture, which compliments the Group's relationships with utility companies in the region - EDP (Energias de Portugal) and Iberdrola. The Group believes that the region offers significant under-exploited opportunity, relative to the UK which has a strong and mature IP commercialisation market, where Portugal is actively seeking to widen access to early-stage funding and commercialisation expertise.
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive of Frontier IP, said:
"This agreement with Évora is an exciting step for Frontier IP and is in line with our strategy of developing our relationships internationally, adding to the strong relationships we already have with industrial partners in the region. We are looking forward to working with Évora to develop and commercialise its IP portfolio."
Dr. Ana Costa Freitas, Rector, Universidade de Évora, said:
"At Evora, we discover and develop strong science in defined fields, including environment, agriculture, energy and materials, but recognise the need to commercialise and make the most of this knowledge. Given our lack of experience in this area, we are excited to progress our knowledge and ideas with the Frontier IP team."
Enquiries
Frontier IP Group Plc |
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T: 0131 240 1251 |
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive |
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Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk |
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Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) |
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T: 020 7894 7000 |
David Foreman, Catherine Leftley, Corporate Finance |
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David Banks, Corporate Broking |
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Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited (Joint Broker) |
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T: 020 7469 0935 |
Lucy Williams |
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Kreab |
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T: 020 7074 1800 |
Robert Speed, Matthew Jervois |
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Notes to Editor:
About Frontier IP Group plc
www.frontierip.co.uk
Frontier IP specialises in assisting institutions and companies in the commercialisation and exploitation of their intellectual property. It establishes formal and informal relationships with sources of exploitable IP, principally universities. Its core business is building and growing a portfolio of equity stakes in spin-out companies by taking an active involvement in the commercialisation and funding of these businesses. Frontier IP currently has seventeen companies in its portfolio, which exploit IP from a range of institutions.
About Universidade de Évora
www.uevora.pt
Established in 1559, Évora University is a leading Portuguese university with strong links to industry. It is involved in a unique R&D cluster for the test and development of cutting edge technologies. The cluster has attracted several blue chip companies into the region and supports the links between industry and the University. Currently the University is working with a number of industry players including EDP (on InovGrid, EDP's smart grid project with partners such as Siemens) and aviation manufacturer Embraer.
