# The Lachesis Fund

The Lachesis Fund is a Private Equity based in Loughborough, United Kingdom.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Loughborough, United Kingdom
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
- **Founded:** 2001
- **Assets under management:** GBP 5M — 25M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** lachesisfund.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Lachesis Fund launched in 2001 as a proof-of-concept and seed-stage vehicle tied to Loughborough University. Eight Midlands universities — Loughborough, Leicester, De Montfort, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Derby, Lincoln, and Northampton — eventually joined as partners, each feeding early-stage intellectual property into the fund's pipeline. This consortium structure means Lachesis sources from over 15,000 academic researchers, a density no standalone Midlands seed fund matches. The fund writes initial cheques of £50,000–£250,000 into university spin-outs, typically as the first institutional money after grant funding. Deal flow concentrates in engineering, healthcare technologies, advanced materials, and sustainability. Confirmed portfolio companies include Intelligent Energy, the Loughborough fuel-cell developer that later listed on the London Stock Exchange; Nemaura Pharma, a transdermal drug delivery company that went public on Nasdaq; and Base4, a biotech automation platform. Lachesis often syndicates with the university venture arms of Oxford and Cambridge on follow-on rounds, though it leads pricing at the seed stage for Midlands-founded companies. Total deployment since inception approaches £12 million across roughly 45 companies (Altss estimate). The fund operates with a lean in-house team — typically one fund manager and an investment committee drawn from partner universities' commercialisation offices. In 2023, the UK government renewed its backing of university proof-of-concept funds through Research England, indirectly validating the model Lachesis has run for two decades (per UKRI, 2023). The fund's structural differentiator is its geography-as-franchise model. Lachesis does not compete for auctioned deals in London or Cambridge; it holds formal right-of-first-review agreements with its eight partner institutions. For an allocator mapping UK deep-tech origination outside the Golden Triangle, Lachesis is the institutional bottleneck on Midlands academic deal flow.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Industrial Tech
- Healthcare Services
- AgriTech & FoodTech
- Energy Transition & Renewables

## People

- Mark White — Fund Manager

## Questions

### How does The Lachesis Fund source proprietary deal flow?

Lachesis operates under formal partnerships with eight Midlands universities — Loughborough, Leicester, De Montfort, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Derby, Lincoln, and Northampton. Through these agreements, it receives early referral rights on commercialisable research emerging from over 15,000 academics. This consortium model gives the fund a sourcing pipeline that is structurally closed to outside venture investors until Lachesis has evaluated the opportunity.

### What is the fund's relationship to its university partners?

Lachesis is an independent fund, not a university treasury vehicle. Partner universities contribute commercialisation office support and deal flow; the fund itself makes independent investment decisions. This separates academic governance from investment governance, allowing Lachesis to negotiate terms at arms' length from the originating institution while still enjoying privileged access to their research pipelines.

### Which sectors does The Lachesis Fund focus on?

The deal flow mirrors the research strengths of its partner universities. Core areas include advanced engineering, healthcare technologies, materials science, clean energy, and agri-tech. Intelligent Energy (fuel cells), Nemaura Pharma (drug delivery), and Base4 (biotech automation) are among the companies that emerged from this pipeline.

### How long has the fund been operating, and what is its track record?

The Lachesis Fund launched in 2001, making it one of the longest-running university-anchored seed vehicles in the UK. Across more than two decades, it has deployed approximately £12 million into roughly 45 companies (Altss estimate). Notable exits and public listings include Intelligent Energy (LSE) and Nemaura Pharma (Nasdaq), though the portfolio remains predominantly early-stage and illiquid.

## Related profiles

- [The Green Airliner](https://altss.com/profile/the-green-airliner)
- [The Lingze Fund](https://altss.com/profile/the-lingze-fund)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/the-lachesis-fund

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