RESPONSE F0074554

Mark Haller

[FOI #21224 email]
12 November 2009
Our Ref: FOI 2009/174 – F0074554
Dear Mr Haller,

Re: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

Thank you for your email which was received by the University on 15 October 2009 timed
15:06 hours, requesting the following information:

“…the IP Group has invested £450,000 in ReactivLab Ltd for a 33.2% stake. How much of a
share does the University have in this company?

What is the status of the other two companies named (XanIC Limited, and Wireless
bioDevices Limited), what is the level of investment from IP Group, what % stake does this
equate to, and are all of these companies still trading?

However, given that Reactiv Labs was formed in Aug 2007 and there does not appear to have
been any further activity since then, is it reasonable to assume that this partnership has been
terminated due to lack of interest/funds by the IP Group? How much have IP group actually
invested out of the initial £5m indicated in the announcement four years ago?

Has the University agreed to similar partnerships with any other external party? I believe that
both Edinburgh and Strathclyde have agreements with a technology and investment
management company called Braveheart (Edinburgh having a £25m fund formed in 2007 over
eight years; Strathclyde having a £12m fund formed 2007, £4.5m committed as of 2008). Did
Braveheart ever approach University of Glasgow?”

University’s Response

The IP Group has invested £450,000 in ReactivLab Ltd for a 33.2% stake. How much of a
share does the University have in this company?

DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICE
Main Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ
Data Protection: Telephone: 0141-330-3111 E-Mail: [email address]
Freedom of Information: Telephone: 0141-330-2523 E-Mail: foi@gla.ac.uk
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

What is the status of the other two companies named (XanIC Limited, and Wireless
bioDevices Limited), what is the level of investment from IP Group, what % stake does
this equate to, and are all of these companies still trading?

Company
IPG
IPG
GU
Investment
Equity  Equity
%
%
Mode Diagnostics (formerly Wireless bioDevices
£400k
42.6%
19.4%
Ltd)
Reactivlab Ltd
£450k
40.3%
20.2%
XanIC Ltd (now being wound-up)
£140k
18%
30.5%
Total
£990k

(Please note, as at 9 November 2009, the IP Group has a 33.72% shareholding in Reactivlab.
In addition, IP2IPO Nominees Ltd which is associated to the IP Group has a 6.53%
shareholding in Reactivlab.  Therefore, between both holdings IP Group has 40.3% of the
shares in Reactivlab.)

Current Status of IP Group Companies

Wireless BioDevices Ltd (now named Mode Diagnostics Ltd).  This company continues to
operate fully and is currently developing its product.  The company has changed its name to
reflect a re-focus of the direction of the business and the markets it aims to address.

Reactivlab Ltd. This company continues to operate fully and is currently developing its
product offering as well as providing services.

XanIC Ltd. The company was aimed at commercialising a high-risk technology.  Unfortunately
the technology did not translate from the academic laboratory due to a series of technical
problems.  In the circumstances it was decided that the company should cease trading and
the technology return to the University for further development.  Xanic Ltd ceased to trade on
30 April 2009.  It is in the process of being voluntarily wound-up.  All creditors have been paid
in full.

However, given that Reactiv Labs was formed in Aug 2007 and there does not appear to
have been any further activity since then, is it reasonable to assume that this
partnership has been terminated due to lack of interest/funds by the IP Group?

Please see the answer to the previous question for details of Reactivelab Ltd’s current activity.
The IP Group partnership is with the University rather than Reactivlab Ltd.  This partnership
remains very active.  Currently there are venture propositions being matured and it is hoped
that these will lead to spin-out companies in due course.

How much have IP group actually invested out of the initial £5m indicated in the
announcement four years ago?

The IP Group have invested £990,000 as indicated in the table above.

Has the University agreed to similar partnerships with any other external party?

Currently the University does not have any other partnerships that are similar to the one
entered into with the IP Group plc.

Did Braveheart ever approach the University of Glasgow?”

The University had a partnership agreement with Braveheart Ventures in June 2005 in relation
to the commercialisation of technology funded under the Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept
Scheme.  Braveheart Ventures terminated the agreement in late 2006 with no investments
made.

In 2006 the University received a proposal from Braveheart, however, after internal
consideration it was decided not to progress this further.

The supply of documents under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
does not give the applicant or whoever receives the information any right to re-use it in such a
way that might infringe the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (for example, by making
multiple copies, publishing or otherwise distributing the information to other individuals and the
public). The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Consequential Modifications) Order
2004 ensured that Section 50 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“CDPA”)
applies to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“FOISA”).

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on copyright is available at the following website:

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm
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Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office