Frontier IP Group PLC (LSE:FIPP, FRA:8WT)) chief executive Neil Crabb joined Proactive to discuss the company's latest fundraising and the progress being made across its portfolio of deep technology businesses.
The conversation covered the €211 million grant awarded to portfolio company 2D Photonics, developments at companies including Pulsiv and GraphEnergyTech, and Frontier IP's strategy for driving future exits and value realisations.
Watch the full interview below and read the complete transcript.
Proactive: I'm joined by Frontier IP Group PLC (LSE:FIPP) CEO Neil Crabb. Neil, very good morning. Could you start by telling us the reason for the fundraising and why now?
Neil Crabb: We had flagged previously that we would come back to the market to raise more money. That's to support our ongoing operations, but also portfolio companies that are at key inflection points in their scale-up journey. We've seen strong progress coming through there.
We're also expanding our activities to include a science centre in Cambridge, broadening the support we provide to portfolio companies. It's a blend of those factors. We think this is a really interesting point for the business given the progress within the portfolio.
Proactive: Neil, how disappointed are you by the sharp discount to the offer?
Neil Crabb: That clearly was a disappointment, especially in light of the very strong news from 2D Photonics and its large grant. I think it's reflective of generally challenging market conditions rather than anything specific to us.
Institutional support is harder to secure given the outflows institutions have experienced. Our response is to demonstrate sufficient progress in the portfolio so that we don't need to return to the market and can instead drive exits and realisations from portfolio companies. That's what we'll be focused on.
Proactive: Neil, what will you use the funds for?
Neil Crabb: The funds will support the team that works with portfolio companies, help us deliver the expansion of the science centre in Cambridge, and selectively support certain portfolio companies where appropriate.
The primary objective is to help drive the portfolio through to exits and realisations.
Proactive: Which portfolio companies are you most focused on in terms of future milestones and realisations?
Neil Crabb: The really big news in the last six months was the €211 million grant and state aid clearance for 2D Photonics. Last year we announced a funding round involving Sony, Bosch, NATO and Italian sovereign wealth investment. The grant will allow the company to build a substantial facility to demonstrate technology relevant to both AI and defence.
Within AI there is significant pressure to improve performance and reduce costs. 2D Photonics is focused on the interconnect between GPUs and high-bandwidth memory, which is a major bottleneck affecting computing performance and costs. We believe it has a genuinely world-leading technology backed by tier-one investors and substantial state support.
Pulsiv is another important company focused on energy efficiency. Growing electricity demand from data centres, EVs and broader electrification means technologies that improve power efficiency are increasingly important. Pulsiv addresses a potential market of more than eight billion devices.
The Vaccine Group has delivered strong results in animal challenge studies. Alusid is looking to scale up. GraphEnergyTech is working on replacing silver in solar panels with graphene to lower costs and support wider solar deployment.
Finally, Cambridge Raman Imaging has the potential to transform how the chemical composition and morphology of materials are analysed across a range of industrial applications.
Proactive: Thank you very much for your time today. I hope you'll continue to keep us updated on progress across your portfolio.
Neil Crabb: I'd be delighted to do so
