Powerhouse Ventures – Announces plans for growth

Powerhouse Ventures – Announces plans for growth

11 December 2014

At its Annual Meeting on Wednesday 10 December Powerhouse Ventures Limited (“Powerhouse”), a developer of intellectual property-based businesses, announced a range of activities to support the continued rapid development of its portfolio of ventures. This follows strong growth during the last year in which Powerhouse expanded its operations substantially to gain nationwide coverage, while maintaining an annual average growth rate in its portfolio values of 30%.

Powerhouse works with a number of Universities and research organisations, identifying spin-out ventures suitable to receive funding for initial proof-of-concept investigation and, at a later stage, follow-on funding.

Early-stage investment is provided in collaboration with Callaghan Innovation, the Government business innovation agency, while the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund is an important co-investor for follow-on capital.

Dr Kerry McDonald, Powerhouse Chairman, announced at the AGM that the Company plans to increase its access to capital for follow-on funding substantially, this being critical for the success of research-based ventures.

Amongst a number of options is an initial public offering (IPO).

There have also been a number of recent Board changes following the appointment of Kerry McDonald, an experienced Director and Chairman in Australia and New Zealand, as Powerhouse Chairman.

Dr Dianne McCarthy was elected to the Board at the AGM. Dianne is a scientist with 52 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and one co-authored book in experimental psychology and behavioural neuroscience.

Dr McCarthy has 20 years’ experience in management and governance roles in the tertiary education, science and health sectors and recently retired as Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Other Board changes include the appointment of Chief Executive Dr Stephen Hampson as Managing Director and the retirement of Phil Holliday, John Barr and Elizabeth Hopkins. The retiring Directors were warmly thanked for their contributions, especially Phil, who was an establishment shareholder and long-serving Director and will continue as a member of the Powerhouse Investment Committee.

Dr Hampson said: “Powerhouse has a growing portfolio of investment companies - currently fifteen established ventures and a further four well progressed through the due diligence process. From our beginnings in Christchurch, we now have a nation-wide organisation having established offices in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland. This expansion gives the Company access to additional sources of high-quality opportunities. We have been very impressed with the pipeline of opportunities we are now seeing. The enthusiasm of University commercialisation offices and their Crown Research Institute counterparts to transfer their technology into start-up ventures has validated our strategy of national expansion”.

Dr McCarthy said: “Working with University researchers to turn their research insights and breakthroughs into commercial ventures will always be both exciting and challenging. Powerhouse’s philosophy of working with scientists and engineers to turn their ideas into businesses creates new opportunities for all of New Zealand, making it a hugely stimulating environment to work in.

I’m really looking forward to being a part of this next stage of growth for Powerhouse.”

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