IP Group banks £21M from Oxford Nanopore as realisations hit £85.8M
What's the deal? IP GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised about £21 million by selling 10 million shares in DNA sequencing group Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and separately led a £4 million pre-Series A round in AI materials startup Matter MachineDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The FTSE 250 firm invests in science and technology businesses spun out of universities.
Why now? The moves extend a run of cash realisations since July, when RailpenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → confirmed it would not bid for IP Group. Cash from exits reached £68.7 million in the first half of the year — already above the full-year 2025 total — and climbed to £85.8 million year to date by September 11, before the Oxford Nanopore sale.
What's the endgame? IP Group is working towards £250 million of realisations over 2025 to 2027. After the Oxford Nanopore placing, it still holds a 7.23% direct stake worth roughly £151.5 million, and has agreed not to sell more for 90 days.
Chief executive Greg Smith called Oxford Nanopore one of the "outstanding successes" in the portfolio and described the sale as an appropriate partial realisation that adds to the group's financial flexibility.
The numbers: Interim results on September 15 showed net asset value per share up 3.2% to 113.9p at June 30, from 110.4p at the end of 2025. Total NAV topped £1 billion, with a half-year profit of £31.2 million and gross cash of £238.9 million, up from £211 million. The portfolio was valued at £907.4 million, including a Pfizer obesity-treatment royalty that rose £27.3 million to £152.1 million.
What could go wrong? Capital returns remain unsettled. Shareholders did not pass a buyback resolution at the June annual meeting, so no shares were repurchased in the half, and the company is now consulting investors. About £50 million of realisation cash is set aside for future returns; since 2021 the group has returned more than £150 million and retired 17.7% of its share capital.
The Matter Machine round, a University of LiverpoolDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → spin-out using AI and automated labs to speed materials discovery, was oversubscribed and also drew Northern GritstoneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Norrsken EvolveDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, LYVA LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and others. IP Group did not disclose its share of the £4 million.
The signal: With bid talks over and former 3i chief executive Michael Queen now chair, IP Group is leaning on steady realisations and fresh deals to prove its strategy. The pace of exits — and the unresolved buyback question — will test whether it can convert portfolio value into returns investors can see.
Read more: kalkine.co.uk
Image credit: umseas
