Nandi Proteins, the Edinburgh-based company pioneering development of healthier processed foods, has doubled its value in the past 15 months.
Frontier IP, the AIM-listed backer of university spin-outs, said the latest funding round for its star portfolio company had been struck at a valuation of £7.57 million, twice the level of the previous fundraising in November 2014.
Nandi, which spun out from Heriot-Watt University in 2001, is commercialising a patented protein process technology which can reduce sugars, fats and emulsifiers in processed food without adversely impacting taste and texture.
It is being rolled out at a time when food companies are under increasing legislative pressure to reduce the level of these ingredients in their products, enabling them to “remain competitive in response to healthier eating trends using sustainable, naturally-occurring proteins in food manufacture”, the company says.
Nandi takes the proteins found in common foods such as egg white, soy seeds and whey and unfolds them so their properties can be changed. Altering the proteins’ structure means they can be used to replace fat in very low-fat sauces, or increase the shelf life of foods by allowing them to reach higher pasteurisation temperatures.
In 2012 Tate & Lyle licensed the technology for use in the food and drink industry, and Nandi said it would continue to develop its invention for other applications, such as in the pharmaceuticals sector.
Now Nandi has raised £250,000 from new and existing investors, following £660,000 in the previous round, which will result in Frontier IP’s 20.8per cent holding in being revalued upwards by £780,000. The group said the increase would be recognised in the group’s forthcoming half-year results. Last November the fair value of its portfolio investments was £2.81m.
Dr. Lydia Campbell, chief technology officer of Nandi, said: “Frontier IP has been instrumental in successfully securing this fundraising which will leverage our relationships in the food sector at a time when the industry is seeking effective ways to address consumer health. The potential of Nandi’s technology ....is increasingly recognised by major food companies and we are now investing to commercialise our technology to address this demand.”
Neil Crabb, chief executive of Frontier IP, said: “Nandi’s technology enables food companies to improve the nutritional profile of their products.” He said the company would “continue to support the rapid commercialisation of this timely technology which offers a solution to such an urgent requirement for the food industry”.
In November Frontier, which itself spun off from Sigma Capital in 2012, reported a pre-tax profit of £647,000, up from £27,000 the previous year, and the fair value of its portfolio companies was up by 118 per cent.
The shares, which floated at 13.5p and rose to 39p in April 2015, were up 0.25p at 20.75p.
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