IFS Maven Equity Finance invests in microbiology services provider

NCIMB, a leading microbiology services provider and owner of the UK’s largest industrial, food and marine bacterial culture collection, has secured a £1.7m investment from the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) - Maven Equity Finance and the Scottish National Investment Bank. 

NCIMB provides microbial identification, testing and safe storage services and supplies bacterial stains from its globally recognised collection for commercial and academic use. The business services customers operating in a number of industries, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food & drink, energy, and environmental sectors, from its state-of-the-art laboratory facility in Aberdeen. Their strong industry reputation continues to attract new clients, often through word-of-mouth referrals or recognition of its longstanding credibility.

The investment will be used to strengthen NCIMB’s business development and marketing functions to accelerate growth in its core microbiology and strain licensing services. It will also enable the business to broaden its service offering to include the selection and development of bacterial strains in its collection for specific customer applications.  

Pictured: Edward Green, CEO at NCIMB

The Maven team were first introduced to NCIMB at an IFS Roadshow in Aberdeen, hosted by the British Business Bank.

“I am delighted that NCIMB has secured this investment from Maven and the Bank. The funding is transformational for the business, allowing us to scale in the Northeast of Scotland and better support our customer’s needs in life sciences. In addition, it allows us to deliver our long-term vision to deploy our unique microbial platform to deliver impactful biotechnology solutions addressing grand societal challenges including decarbonisation, climate change, food security and healthy living.” 

Edward Green, CEO at NCIMB

“NCIMB is globally recognised for its culture collection and for delivering high-quality microbiology services and is uniquely positioned to meet growing market demand for Contract Research Organisation’s (CRO) with deep domain expertise.  This investment will allow the company to scale its commercial operations, expand its licensing business, and enhance its service offering to customers worldwide. We are delighted to join the team at this point in the company’s journey and look forward to helping them further scale the business.”

David Milroy, Partner at Maven

“NCIMB is a long-established Scottish business doing important work at the intersection of science and industry. The Investment Fund for Scotland is committed to supporting  ambitious businesses to access the finance they need to drive progress in key sectors and deliver lasting economic and social value across the country.”

Sarah Newbould, Senior Investment Manager, Nations and Regions Investment Funds, at the British Business Bank

“The cultures in NCIMB’s care and collection have the potential to help companies and researchers achieve greater efficiencies and improve sustainability across a range of global applications. Our investment will help the business scale and grow at an accelerated pace. As an impact investor, we are attracted to NCIMB's commercial potential as well as the innovation it can unlock to address global challenges such as climate change and food insecurity.”

Alastair McMillen, Associate Director of Sustainable Investment at the Scottish National Investment Bank

This marks the latest investment made by IFS Maven Equity Finance, showcasing Maven’s strong track record of identifying and nurturing high potential businesses, as well as the opportunity in Scotland to drive innovation and growth. The Fund has also backed gene control University spin-out, Concinnity Genetics, B-Corp accredited water treatment business, Scotmas Group, workforce optimisation software provider, Corporate Modelling Services, and, premium Indian ready meals business, Praveen Kumar.

IFS - Maven Equity Finance can provide investment of up to £5 million to support ambitious earlier and later stage businesses across Scotland. If your business, or the business you advise, is looking for an equity investment as a solution to fund future growth, get in touch here.