Circassia float sends Imperial profits soaring
IMPERIAL Innovations, the Aim-listed commercialisation firm founded by Imperial College London, saw its profits soar seven-fold lifted by proceeds from four initial public offerings (IPO) of firms under its investment.
The IPO of biotech firm Circassia Pharmaceuticals saw Imperial’s 14 per cent holding, its largest ever investment, in the group appreciate by £33.2m since its float in March.
Profits rose to £27.4m during the year to 31 July, from just £3.8m in the same period last year.
“The Group made significant progress last year, marked by 38 per cent growth in the value of our portfolio [to £252m], record profits and four public company transactions. We also completed a £150m fundraising and now have substantial capital resources to deploy,” said Imperial’s chairman Martin Knight. Shares rose 2.6 per cent to 457.5p on the news.