With the world population set to hit 10 billion by 2050 and as people live longer, Milltrust International has launched a food, healthcare and environment focused fund.

Milltrust International, a sustainability focused investment firm operating in a number of regions such as Asia, has officially launched the British Innovation Fund II (BIF II) at Burlington House, the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The second vintage of its university investment fund is dedicated to propelling cutting-edge solutions that tackle challenges across food systems, healthcare, and the environment.

The firm said that BIF II aims to be an investment player in the university startup sphere. On the eve of Jeremy Hunt’s Mansion House speech, tipped to call for greater institutional and pension fund support for British innovation, the fund will enable investors to deploy capital into high-impact areas with growth potential, the firm said.  

The launch of British Innovation Fund II, a nationwide initiative to back the best university spinouts, aims to provide creative high impact solutions for addressing today’s challenges. British Innovation Fund II is managed by Milltrust International’s veteran investors backed by a thought leadership panel of CEOs, founders and academics. 

Similar initiatives are being launched by other investment managers, with the announcement only last week of the Franklin Future of Food UCITS ETF to help create innovation and investment into new technologies in order to produce more food using fewer resources. Franklin Templeton also released the Franklin Future of Health and Wellness UCITS ETF to respond to growing demand for more frequent medical care and wellness activities, as people live longer. See here.  

The launch by Milltrust International featured a panel discussion on the role of impact tech sectors in tackling interconnected global issues. This included analysis of the innovations arising in the ag-tech, health-tech and climate tech sectors and the role early stage investment can play in delivering high-impact solutions to market, the firm continued.  

The discussions demonstrated how the UK's university ecosystem continues to be an engine for advancements and the pivotal moment that has been reached in the growth of this sphere. Investment in spinouts for example has already grown rapidly from £405 million ($522 million) in 2012 to £2.54 billion in 2021. London’s commitment to R&D outpaces many international peers, generating a spinout for every £35.35 million invested compared with Los Angeles' £42.6 million, the firm said. 

With a pre-existing portfolio of game-changers including 52North, creators of Neutrocheck®, Roslin Technologies, Jiva.ai, Polymateria, Eupnoos, Cody Genetics and BugEra, Milltrust takes immense pride in its track record of supporting trailblazing enterprises. Leveraging this expertise and powerful network BIF II will support founders and companies with high value-add capital and close support delivering against Milltrust’s mission of investing for sustainable prosperity while producing attractive returns.  

“I’d personally like to thank all those who attended this memorable launch of British Innovation Fund II. Milltrust International hopes to have demonstrated its leading expertise in this space and deep commitment to supporting the most innovative startups in the UK, and indeed the world, to realise their growth aspirations while bringing game-changing solutions to market,” Simon Hopkins, CEO Milltrust International, said. 

Under the theme of Sustainable Prosperity, Milltrust International Group is a specialist investment organisation co-headquartered in London and Singapore, offering a range of life-changing investment solutions by seeking to address some of the greatest themes of our generation including the development of emerging economies, rising food demand, technological revolutions and climate change. Clients include pension funds, sovereign entities, family offices, entrepreneurs and HNWIs, the firm added. See a related interview with Hopkins, here.