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IP Group Plc

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FY2016 Annual Report · IP Group Plc
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Evolving GREAT IDEAS
into WORLD-CHANGING BUSINESSES

IP Group plc 
Annual Report and Accounts 
for the year ended 31 December 2016

Stock Code: IPO

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The purpose of IP Group is to evolve great ideas  
into world-changing businesses.
The IP Group team has spent many years developing its approach to identifying attractive intellectual property 
(“IP”), nurturing and building businesses around such IP and then providing capital and support along the 
journey from “cradle to maturity”. We are pioneering in our approach, including the concept of forming long-
term partnerships with leading research universities, passionate about what we do, principled in how we work 
and committed to delivering results for all of our stakeholders. 

We have a strong track record of success and are proud to have helped create and build some truly exciting 
businesses based on cutting-edge science. Since inception in 2001, the Group has generated a gross realised 
and unrealised internal rate of return (IRR) on its direct portfolio of approximately 19% and an annualised 
return on Hard NAV per share of approximately 14% since 2003, the year in which the Group was admitted to 
AIM. Our portfolio currently comprises holdings in 90 companies that we have helped create and build across 
the four sectors in which we operate.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited (“Oxford 
Nanopore”) – the world’s first and only pocket-sized 
nanopore DNA sequencer. Its SmidgION device, 
which is currently in development, will be the 
smallest sequencing device so far, designed to plug 
into a smartphone. The company has just launched 
the GridION X5, its new mid-sized benchtop 
sequencing device.

 Read more on pages 24 – 27

The accolades continued to roll in for our touchless 
haptic technology company, Ultrahaptics Holdings 
Ltd (“Ultrahaptics”), including “Start Up of the Year” 
at the British Engineering Excellence Awards. Billed 
as one of the top 10 companies to look out for at the 
CES 2017 show in Las Vegas, Ultrahaptics announced 
that its technology had been integrated into a new 
concept car being exhibited by a major tier 1 supplier 
into the automotive industry.

 Read more on pages 28 – 29

Fuel cell company Ceres Power plc made outstanding 
commercial progress in the year. The company now 
has four partners with a fifth expected by the end of 
2017. Ceres also has three new evaluation agreements 
and a strong pipeline with a series of international 
prospective partners.

 Read more on pages 30 – 31

Diurnal Group plc has two 
products in Phase 3 studies, 
Infacort and Chronocort, 
for the treatment of the 
childhood and adult forms 
of adrenal insufficiency, 
respectively. Excellent 
progress was made during 
2016 and regulatory 
approval of Infacort and 
potential first sales are 
expected in 2017. 

 Read more on pages 32 – 33

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Highlights

Hard NAV
(£m)

£706.5m

(2015: £714.3m)

Portfolio highlights
 • Overall net increase in fair 

714.3

706.5

451.3

315.5

236.6

value of portfolio, excluding net 
investment, of £6.5m  
(2015: £86.2m)

 • Strong second half portfolio fair 
value increase of £31.4m follows 
£24.9m reduction in first half

 • Fair value of portfolio: £614.0m 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

(2015: £552.2m)

Proceeds from 
sales of equity 
investments
(£m)

£14.7m

(2015: £0.6m)

16.7

14.7

9.7

5.5

2012

2013

2014

0.6
2015

2016

 • Capital provided to portfolio 

companies and projects: £69.7m 
(2015: £115.9m)

 • Portfolio cash realisations: 

£14.7m (2015: £0.6m)

 • Group’s portfolio companies 

raised approximately £230m of 
new capital during the year

 • Oxford Nanopore completed 

£100m private financing

 • Diurnal reports positive headline 
data from European Infacort® 
Phase III pivotal study

Financial and operational highlights
 • Net assets £768.7m (2015: £781.9m) 

 • Hard NAV £706.5m (2015: £714.3m)

 • Return on Hard NAV of negative £7.6m (2015: positive £84.0m)

 • Loss for the year £14.8m (2015: profit £75.1m)

 • Gross cash and deposits £112.3m (2015: £178.8m)

 • Acquisition of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, the UK’s largest EIS growth 

fund manager focused on university spin-outs

Disclaimer: This Annual Report and Accounts may contain forward-looking statements. 
These statements reflect the Board’s current view, are subject to a number of material risks 
and uncertainties and could change in the future. Factors that could cause or contribute 
to such changes include, but are not limited to, the general economic climate and market 
conditions, as well as specific factors relating to the financial or commercial prospects or 
performance of individual companies within the Group’s portfolio. Further details can be 
found in the Risk management section on pages 38 to 45.
Throughout this Annual Report and Accounts, the Group’s holdings in portfolio companies 
reflect the undiluted beneficial equity interest excluding debt, unless otherwise explicitly 
stated. 

Strategic Report Business Overview

What’s inside

Business Overview

Highlights 
Group at a Glance 

Strategic Report

Our Business & Strategy 
Chairman’s summary 
Market 
Business model 
Our strategy 
Our Performance 
Key performance indicators 
Operational review 
Portfolio review 
Financial review 
Risk management 
Our business ethics and  
social responsibility 

Our Governance

Overview 
Board of Directors 
Corporate Governance Statement 
Committee Reports 
Directors’ Remuneration Report  
Report of the Audit and  
Risk Committee 
Other Statutory 
Directors’ report 
Statement of Directors’  
Responsibilities 

Our Financials

Independent auditor’s report 
Group Primary Statements 
Consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income 
Consolidated statement of  
financial position 
Consolidated statement  
of cash flows 
Consolidated statement of  
changes in equity 
Group Notes
Notes to the consolidated  
financial statements 
Company Statements 
Company balance sheet 
Statement of changes in equity 
Notes to the Company 
financial statements 
Company information 

1
2

6
8
12
14

16
18
20
34
38

46

52
54

69

88

93

95

98 

101

102

103

104

105

138
139

140
IBC

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1

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comGroup at a Glance

IP GROUP’S PORTFOLIO

Portfolio overview

Sectors

Healthcare

£614.0m

Fair Value

90

Companies in total

Of which: Top teni worth

Portfolio value  
(% of total)

£328.0m (60%)

Focus

Development

£418.2m
£473.3m  
= 19 companies
£57.0m  
= 32 companies
£20.3m  
= 39 companies
£62.5m  
= 3 companies

multi-sector platform

Early-Stage

Largest:  
Oxford Nanopore

£246.3m

>£230m

Total funds raised by 
portfolio companies 
in 2016

2

 Read more on pages 24-27

Technology

 Read more on pages 28-29

Cleantech

 Read more on pages 30-31

Biotech

£93.6m (17%)

£76.9m (14%)

£52.1m (9%)

 Read more on pages 32-33

Multi-sector 
platform businesses

£62.5m

de minimis holdings

£0.9m

TOTAL

£614.0m

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Business Overview

2016 net fair 
value changeii

Stage

Focus

Development

Early stage

Research  
partners

UK Partners

 • University of Bath
 • University of Bristol
 • University of Cardiff
 • University of Glasgow
 • University of Leeds
 • King’s College London
 • Queen Mary, 

University of London

 • University of 
Manchester
 • University of 
Nottingham

 • University of Sheffield
 • University of 
Southampton

 • University of Surrey
 • Swansea University 
 • University of York

UK Platform Access

 • University of Oxfordiii
 • University of 
Cambridgeiv

US agreements

 • Columbia University
 • University of 
Pennsylvania

 • Princeton University
 • University of 
Washington

Notes
i. 

 Excluding the £40.0m holding 
in Oxford Sciences Innovation 
plc which is classified in 
multiple sectors

ii. 

 Unrealised increase/(decrease) 
in value excluding investments 
and divestments in the period, 
including fees settled in equity 
£0.4m

6

6

5

2

9

11

6

6

12

14

9

4

£27.0 m

£(0.1)m

£(5.8)m

£(20.4)m

£6.7m

£7.4m

19

32

39

KEY

UK

USA

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com

3

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Create

To build and maintain a pipeline  
of compelling intellectual property-
based opportunities

4

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Strategic Report

Our Business & Strategy 
Chairman’s summary 

Market 

Business model 

Our strategy 

Our Performance 
Key performance indicators 

Operational review 

Portfolio review 

Financial review 

Risk management 

Our business ethics and  
social responsibility 

6

8

12

14

16

18

20

34

38

46

Creavo Medical 
Technologies
A new cardiac scanning 
device that could save 
the NHS £200m a year is 
being trialled at four of the 
UK’s largest emergency 
departments (Bristol, 
Nottingham, Leicester  
and Sheffield).

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5

Chairman’s summary

2016 was another extremely productive 
year for the group 
Mike Humphrey Chairman

IP Group enjoyed an extremely productive year in 
2016. The first half of the year saw major commercial 
developments in our key assets across all four of 
the sectors in which we operate and we recorded 
successful exits from three companies. That strong 
operational performance continued in the second half 
of the year which also saw significant fundraisings 
from three of our largest portfolio companies as 
well as a corporate acquisition. These achievements 
took place against a backdrop of general uncertainty 
following the outcomes of both the UK’s referendum 
on its membership of the EU and the US presidential 
election.

Since the publication of our half-year report, it 
has been pleasing to see the UK Government, and 
other governments around the world, acknowledge 
the continued importance of supporting scientific 
innovation. IP Group was founded on the belief 
that modern economies need to not only support 
fundamental scientific research but also to 
commercially leverage this innovation through the 
creation of significant businesses that contribute 
to employment and economic growth. As such, 
in today’s increasingly dynamic world, the 
fundamental driver of our business – the need for the 
commercialisation of science – remains as strong as 
ever. 

As we begin 2017, it is worth noting that the Group 
remains well-capitalised with a strong balance sheet 
and that our portfolio is well diversified with a broad 
range of early to mature businesses across four 
sectors. Geographically, we also have a burgeoning 
operation in the US and a healthy pipeline of new 
opportunities. I would like to stress that our most 
valuable portfolio company holdings are making 
excellent commercial progress. We are fortunate 
to be able to call on an extremely experienced 
management team who have weathered a number 
of business cycles. All of these factors combine to 
ensure that the Group remains well positioned for the 
future.

HIGHLIGHTS

Portfolio companies raise 
c.£230m of new capital in 2016

Sale of entire holding in Tracsis 
plc for £13.1m

Acquisition of  
Parkwalk Advisors Ltd

Key events
Of the many highlights in 2016, I would like to draw 
your attention to both exits and fundraisings. On the 
former, the Group recorded the second largest cash 
exit in its history with the sale of its entire holding in 
Tracsis plc in March 2016. The Group was a founder 
shareholder in Tracsis, which was spun out of the 
University of Leeds in 2004 and, following eight 
successful acquisitions, is now a profitable business 
with turnover in excess of £30m, employing more 
than 600 people. The sale resulted in net cash 
proceeds of £13.1m, bringing total proceeds from 
Tracsis to date to £14.3m and representing a multiple 
of approximately 38 times the Group’s investment  
of £0.4m.

On the point of fundraisings, it is noteworthy that our 
portfolio companies raised over £230m of new capital 
this year with almost £200m of that falling into the 
second half of the year, a remarkable achievement 
given the prevailing economic climate. Our most 
valuable spin-out company, Oxford Nanopore, raised 
£100m. Other significant fund raisings including AIM-
quoted Ceres Power’s £20m placing.

6

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business & Strategy

Summary
In summary, 2016 was another extremely productive 
year for the Group despite challenging circumstances 
of external uncertainty, particularly in the second half 
of the year. As ever, we are grateful for the continued 
hard work and commitment from our staff, academic 
partners and portfolio companies. I would also like to 
extend the Board’s thanks to all of our stakeholders 
for their continued support. IP Group remains as 
excited as ever about evolving great ideas into world-
changing businesses and we look forward to further 
developing the Group, its partnerships and its spin-
out companies in 2017 and beyond.

Mike Humphrey
Chairman

Acquisition 
In December, the Group announced that it had agreed 
to acquire Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, the UK’s leading 
university spin-out focused EIS fund manager, for an 
initial consideration of £10m (up to a maximum of 
£20m over three years, subject to the achievement 
of certain business performance targets). Parkwalk 
has been a long-term co-investment partner of IP 
Group, having co-invested over £17m in 14 investment 
rounds during 2015/2016 alone. The primary reason 
for the Group’s acquisition of Parkwalk was to further 
secure access to this increasingly important source 
of financing for early-stage technology companies 
and we believe Parkwalk’s strong links to leading 
institutional wealth managers and university partners 
will be beneficial to the Group. In addition, it is a 
profitable business and is immediately accretive to IP 
Group’s operating results. The acquisition completed 
on 31 January 2017 and I’m delighted to welcome the 
Parkwalk team to the Group.

Financial performance
In terms of financial performance, the Group’s 
objective is to generate long-term value for its 
stakeholders and the Group’s portfolio has delivered 
strong growth to date. Since inception in 2001, the 
Group has generated a gross realised and unrealised 
internal rate of return (IRR) on its portfolio of 
approximately 19% and an annualised return on Hard 
NAV per share of approximately 14% since the end 
of 2003, the year in which the Group was admitted 
to AIM. However, it remains important to consider 
that portfolio company valuations and therefore 
results can fluctuate from year to year and this was 
the case in 2016. The Group’s net assets excluding 
goodwill and intangibles (“Hard NAV”) were broadly 
unchanged at £706.5m (2015: £714.3m) with the fair 
value of the portfolio increasing to £614.0m (2015: 
£552.2m) although the Group recorded an overall 
loss for the year of £14.8m (2015: profit of £75.1m). 
The Group ended the year with gross cash of £112.3m 
(2015: £178.8m).

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7

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comMarket

The purpose of IP Group is to evolve great ideas  
into world-changing businesses.

The Directors consider that the Group is operating 
and competing in two major areas. Firstly, the Group 
competes for access to great ideas with significant 
commercial potential. The Group primarily sources 
these ideas from world-leading academic research 
institutions, frequently those with which it has a long-
term partnership arrangement. Secondly, the Group 
competes for risk capital to develop these great 
ideas into viable businesses against other investment 
opportunities. While the market for capital is very 
broad and deep, the Group’s companies are typically 
seeking earlier-stage and development risk capital. 

Economic backdrop
The overall economic backdrop has a significant 
bearing on the Group’s ability to pursue its strategic 
objectives. In the shorter term, financial market 
volatility and investor risk appetite impacts the 
Group’s ability to access capital for the development 
of its spin-out companies, could affect the likelihood 
of achieving exits and impacts the periodic valuations 
of its holdings in portfolio companies. Over the 
longer-term, government spending on fundamental 
R&D and indeed policy support towards the 
commercialisation of generated IP are key areas 
affecting the Group’s business model. 

In this context, it is worth noting that these are, of 
course, very uncertain times both economically and 
politically, particularly following events such as the 
UK’s vote in favour of leaving the European Union and 
the outcome of the US presidential election. From 
an economic perspective, last year, for example, the 
International Monetary Fund predicted global growth 
would slow to 3.1% in 2016 before recovering to 3.4% 
in 2017. The forecast had been revised down by  
0.1 percentage point for 2016 and 2017. More recently, 
however, the World Bank predicted a moderate 
improvement in global economic growth in 2017. 

Its Global Economic Prospects report is forecasting 
2.7% growth compared with the 2.3% seen last year. 
Nonetheless, it also flagged heightened uncertainty 
after the US Presidential election in particular. These 
factors may have an impact on the Group this year.

Accessing great ideas/quality 
research
There are considered to be a number of common 
challenges facing the developed and developing 
world today, including issues such as ageing 
population, climate change, resource scarcity, energy 
availability and storage, rapid urbanisation, health 
challenges and increasing digitisation. The Group 
believes that overcoming many of these intractable 
problems will require one or more scientific solutions. 
Further, historically, many such scientific solutions 
have come from fundamental R&D carried out in the 
world’s leading research universities and institutions, 
a trend that we do not see materially changing in the 
near term. As a result, IP Group partners with leading 
research institutions in countries where leading 
research is produced. The Group’s two current areas 
of geographic focus are the UK and the US, which 
lead the world in the production of top rated science, 
with its core activities continuing to remain in the 
UK. The Group does, of course, continually assess 
potential opportunities in other territories that satisfy 
its criteria including long-term partnerships with 
leading research institutions and good access to both 
capital and entrepreneurial talent. 

8

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business & Strategy

The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast then 
that GDP growth will slow to 1.4% in 2017 before 
recovering to 1.7% in 2018, 2.1% in both 2019 and 2020, 
and 2% in 2021.

Stressing that research and development is a 
key driver of economic growth and a vital part 
of the Government’s ‘Industrial Strategy’, the UK 
Government also announced that it would review 
the tax environment for R&D to ensure the system 
is strongly pro-innovation to make the UK an even 
more competitive place to carry out R&D. Funding 
of £100m has also been earmarked to incentivise 
university collaboration in tech transfer and in 
working with business.

The UK Government also began a review of long term 
investment into British firms. The ‘Patient Capital’ 
review, led by the Treasury, will look at how to remove 
the obstacles to getting long term investment into 
innovative firms. It has also pledged to invest £400m 
into venture capital funds via the British Business 
Bank, aimed at enabling small companies to scale 
up and ward off foreign purchases of promising 
companies. 

Global research landscape
From a global perspective, the US remains the 
world’s largest R&D performer with nearly $433bn 
of domestic R&D expenditures in 2013 according to 
the G20 Innovation Report 2016. This exceeded by 
about one-quarter the amount of R&D performed in 
the People’s Republic of China, the second-largest 
performer, which is broadly on par with the combined 
EU28 area. Among the G20, South Korea has the 
highest ratio of R&D expenditures to gross domestic 
product owing to rapid increases in recent years.

Yet there are concerns that a decline in government 
funding of science and technology research in some 
countries could pose a threat to innovation. The 
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 
2016, published in December, noted expenditure on 
R&D by universities and public research institutes 
in OECD countries began flattening out in 2010 
following three decades of growth as other policy 
priorities, such as state pensions, health and social 
care, absorbed a growing share of public resources.  
It indicated that public spending on R&D may plateau 
at current levels or decline even further as a result 
of continued pressure on public finances in many 
countries and sluggish economic growth.

UK landscape
In the UK, where IP Group is predominantly based 
and where it has partnerships with 14 leading UK 
universities and access to innovation from both 
Oxford and Cambridge, the Government has 
announced a package of measures designed to 
support innovation and drive economic growth.

A stimulus package that will see an extra £4.7bn 
flowing into science and innovation over the next four 
years was unveiled last Autumn on the back of the 
outcome of the UK’s referendum on its membership 
of the EU and the expectation of lower growth. 

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9

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comMarket CONTINUED

Competitive landscape
The number of companies and organisations seeking 
to commercialise intellectual property, and/or provide 
capital to spin-out companies from universities and 
research intensive institutions in the UK has increased 
in recent years. Further, the Group continues to face 
the risk of competition in new geographies in which it 
seeks to operate, for example as a result of its recent 
expansion into the US.

When approaching new opportunities, potential 
funders including the Group will often act in a 
collaborative manner through syndication of 
investment. However, there are also occasions when 
IP Group may need to participate in a competitive 
process to obtain an interest in a particular 
technology. 

The Group and its portfolio companies regularly 
compete with a range of technology, and other, 
businesses when seeking capital for the development 
of their business models. The competition for capital, 
and for opportunities on occasion, can come from a 
wide variety of entities, including:

 • specialist traditional venture capital investors;

 •

large private institutional investors;

 • privately managed schemes based on government 

funding;

 • private individuals, both acting individually or 
collectively as groups such as business angel 
networks, crowdfunding platforms or through 
beneficial tax mechanisms such as SEIS, EIS and 
VCTs;

 • direct public funding, for example the EU level 
JEREMIE fund and other national and local 
schemes; and

 • universities and research intensive institutions 

seeking to raise private sector funding 
themselves to support their in-house technology 
commercialisation activities.

IP Group’s approach to building businesses is one of 
the ways in which it differentiates itself from more 
traditional venture funds. The Group actively supports 
the development of its portfolio companies through 
access to early-stage business-building expertise, 
interim executive support, technical and commercial 
networks and senior team recruitment and 
development in addition to the provision of capital.

In addition, the Group provides operational, legal, 
business and company secretarial support to its 
companies, with a view to minimising the most 
common administrative factors that can contribute 
to early-stage company failure. The Group has also 
successfully carried out a number of instances of 
two innovative programmes to accelerate company 
growth, working with CEOs and company boards to 
improve performance.

It is also worth noting that IP Group announced the 
acquisition of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, the UK’s leading 
university spin-out focused EIS fund manager, in 
December 2016. The Group considers EIS funds to 
be an increasingly important source of financing 
for early-stage technology companies and believes 
Parkwalk’s strong links to leading institutional wealth 
managers and university partners will be beneficial to 
the Group.

These factors have helped us create a solid track 
record. Since inception in 2001, the Group has 
generated a gross realised and unrealised internal rate 
of return (IRR) on its portfolio of approximately 19% 
and an annualised return on Hard NAV per share of 
approximately 14% since 2003, the year in which the 
Group was admitted to AIM.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business & Strategy

IP GROUP’S  
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
IP GROUP’S KEY DIFFERENTIATORS 

 • Strength of partnerships with leading research 

institutions, giving access to potentially disruptive IP

 • Technology transfer capability to identify disruptive 
IP and to enable its transfer from research lab to 
commercial entity 

 • Business-building expertise, including executive search, 
administrative support, capital sourcing and innovative 
portfolio board and CEO programmes

 •

“Patient capital” approach, enabling the provision of 
funding from ‘cradle to maturity’ unconstrained by 
artificiality of fixed life funds

 • Strong track record built over 15+ years

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11

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comBusiness model
Evolving great ideas into world-changing businesses.
The Group pioneered the concept of the long-term partnership model 
with UK universities and has spent many years honing a unique approach 
to building businesses and providing support along the journey from 
“cradle to maturity”. 

SELECTION

INCUBATION

SEED

+

UNIVERSITIES

QC

QC

QC

SECTOR EXPERTISE

SECTOR EXPERTISE

SECTOR EXPERTISE

£

LONG–TERM PATIENT CAPITAL

$

Our sector experts 
take a hands-on role in 
business-building, working 
closely with founders to 
shape strategic direction 
and frequently taking 
an interim commercial 
management role.

12

The team is the primary interface between 
the Group and the universities and focuses 
on ‘mining’ and evaluating very early-stage 
opportunities and then developing and 
shaping them into businesses.

Our specialist early-stage in-house 
executive search team recruits 
experienced and high calibre individuals 
to lead our businesses alongside 
founders and IP Group team members.

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Strategic Report Our Business & Strategy

We systematically help create, build and support outstanding 
intellectual property-based companies in order to provide 
attractive returns for all our stakeholders.

POST-SEED & BEYOND

WORKING TO DELIVER

Sustainable Value

Financial returns

New company 
creation

Employment

Providing solutions  
to global challenges

SECTOR EXPERTISE

£

LONG–TERM PATIENT CAPITAL

$

We provide operational, legal and business 
support, including company secretarial, to our 
portfolio companies with a view to minimising 
the most common administrative factors that can 
contribute to early stage company failure.

Our specialist fund management and 
corporate advisory business seeks to create 
value for the Group’s portfolio companies 
primarily by supporting their access to 
capital as well as providing advice on 
corporate finance matters including M&A.

IP Impact has created two 
innovative programmes to 
accelerate company growth, 
working with CEOs and company 
boards to improve performance.

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13

 
Our strategy

Systematically building businesses

OUR STRATEGIC AIMS

WHAT WE DID IN 2016 TO ADDRESS OUR OBJECTIVES

To create 
and maintain 
a pipeline of 
compelling 
intellectual 
property-based 
opportunities

 • Provided capital for the first time to 20 companies or 

projects (2015: 14)

 • New US pilot agreements with the University of Washington 

and The Johns Hopkins University

 • Created new spin-out companies with Oxford Sciences 

Innovation and Cambridge Innovation Capital, 
demonstrating the value of these strategic holdings

 • First full year of operation for New Business & Partnerships 

team focused on developing and expanding interaction with 
UK University partners

To develop  
and support 
these 
opportunities 
into a diversified 
portfolio 
of robust 
businesses

 • Maintained board representation on approximately 80% of 

companies by number

 •

IP Exec team placed 19 senior executives with portfolio 
companies, of which four were chair appointments and two 
were non-executive director appointments 

 •

IP Capital completed five successful portfolio company 
financing engagements 

 • Completed the first significant follow on funding round in US 

portfolio 

 • Continued to provide other support services including 

business support and legal advice to 38 spin-out companies

 • Portfolio fair value increased to £614.0m, a net fair value 

gain of £6.5m

 • Portfolio excluding de minimis holdings of 90 companies (79 

UK, 11 US)

To deliver 
attractive  
financial  
returns on our  
assets and  
third party 
funds

 •

Increased the net fair value of our portfolio holdings, 
excluding net investment, by £6.5m 

 • Provided £69.7m of capital to 55 distinct portfolio 

companies and two multi-sector investments

 • Generated proceeds from sale of equity and debt of £14.7m

 • Portfolio now stands at 90 companies and three multi-
sector investments with a combined total value of 
approximately £3.3bn

 • Total funds under management of approximately £80.3m

14

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business & Strategy

OBJECTIVES FOR 2017

LINK TO KPIS

 • Number of new portfolio companies

 Read more on pages 16 and 17

 • Purchase of equity and debt investments

 • Change in fair value of equity and debt 

investments 

 Read more on pages 16 and 17

 •

Increase the number of new opportunities 
evaluated and created in the US, whilst 
maintaining a similar level of new opportunities 
in the UK

 • Maintain existing US and UK partnerships. 

Continue to explore potential partnerships with 
further world-class universities on a case by case 
basis

 •

Increase value of portfolio company holdings 
through hands-on support and development

 • Replicate our successful UK support model in 
the US through the provision of local business 
support, IP Exec and IP Capital offerings

 • Seek to maintain approach of direct IP Group 
representation on spin-out company boards

 • Maintain the number of executive search 

mandates within IP Exec and assist portfolio 
companies to increase diversity of boards

 • Complete capital raising mandates for certain 

portfolio companies requiring finance from non-
Group sources

 • Continue to provide specialist support services 

such as IP Exec, IP Impact, IP Assist and 
corporate finance advice

 • Seek to continue net long-term increase in 

 • Total equity

portfolio value and net assets

 • Profit/(loss) attributable to equity holders

 • Complete the acquisition of Parkwalk Advisors

 • Proceeds from sale of equity investments

 • Assist, directly or indirectly, portfolio companies 
to access public and private markets to raise 
development capital 

 • Change in fair value of equity and debt 

investments 

 Read more on pages 16 and 17

 • Where appropriate, generate cash realisations 

from portfolio

 • Generate attractive performance in Group’s 

managed funds

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

15

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comKey performance indicators

Measuring our performance:  
focusing on delivery against our strategy

FINANCIAL KPIS

FURTHER DESCRIPTION

2016 PERFORMANCE

STRATEGIC ELEMENT

RISKS POTENTIALLY  

IMPACTING KPI

LINK TO PERFORMANCE-RELATED 

DIRECTOR REMUNERATION

Total equity (“net assets”)

The value of the Group’s assets less 
the value of its liabilities, including 
minority interest

£768.7m  
(2015: £781.9m)

Profit/loss attributable to  
equity holders

Profit/loss after tax for the year, 
attributable to owners of the parent

£(13.5)m  
(2015: £73.9m)

To grow the value of our assets (and those 

we manage on behalf of third parties) and 

deliver attractive financial returns from these 

1   2   5   6

assets

LTIP 2013 - 2015

2015 annual incentive

Portfolio fair value movement has the most 

material impact on this figure which also 

reflects corporate expenses. Measures the 

development of portfolio companies and 

return on our assets

1   2   5   6

2015 annual incentive

Purchase of equity and debt 
investments

The total level of capital deployed 
from the Group’s balance sheet into 
portfolio companies during the year

£69.7m  
(2015: £115.9m)

Build and maintain a pipeline of IP-based 

opportunities and develop these into robust 

2   3   4   6

businesses

Indirectly impacts both net 

assets and Group profit/loss 

(See above)

Net change in fair value of 
equity and debt investments

Movement in the value of holdings 
in the portfolio due to share price 
movements or impairments in value 
and realisations

£6.5m  
(2015: £86.2m)

To develop IP-based businesses and grow 

their value

1   2   5

Indirectly impacts both net 

assets and Group profit/loss 

(See above)

Proceeds from sale of equity 
investments

The total amount received from 
the disposal of interests in portfolio 
companies

£14.7m  

(2015: £0.6m)

Cash from proceeds can be used for 

redeployment into the portfolio or for new 

opportunities

1   2   5

Indirectly impacts both net 

assets and Group profit/loss 

(See above)

NON-FINANCIAL KPIS

Number of new  
portfolio companies

The number of portfolio companies 
that received initial capital from the 
Group during the year

20 
(2015: 14)

Build and maintain a pipeline of IP-based 

opportunities and develop these into robust 

3   4   5   6

businesses

Indirectly impacts both net 

assets and Group profit/loss 

(See above)

KEY

1

4

Access to capital

Personnel

2

5

Early-stage company returns

Macroeconomic conditions

3

6

University partnerships

Legislation and regulation

16

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

FINANCIAL KPIS

FURTHER DESCRIPTION

2016 PERFORMANCE

STRATEGIC ELEMENT

RISKS POTENTIALLY  
IMPACTING KPI

LINK TO PERFORMANCE-RELATED 
DIRECTOR REMUNERATION

Total equity (“net assets”)

The value of the Group’s assets less 

the value of its liabilities, including 

minority interest

£768.7m  

(2015: £781.9m)

Profit/loss attributable to  

equity holders

Profit/loss after tax for the year, 

attributable to owners of the parent

£(13.5)m  

(2015: £73.9m)

To grow the value of our assets (and those 
we manage on behalf of third parties) and 
deliver attractive financial returns from these 
assets

1   2   5   6

LTIP 2013 - 2015

2015 annual incentive

Portfolio fair value movement has the most 
material impact on this figure which also 
reflects corporate expenses. Measures the 
development of portfolio companies and 
return on our assets

1   2   5   6

2015 annual incentive

Purchase of equity and debt 

investments

The total level of capital deployed 

from the Group’s balance sheet into 

portfolio companies during the year

£69.7m  

(2015: £115.9m)

Build and maintain a pipeline of IP-based 
opportunities and develop these into robust 
businesses

2   3   4   6

Indirectly impacts both net 
assets and Group profit/loss 
(See above)

Net change in fair value of 

equity and debt investments

Movement in the value of holdings 

in the portfolio due to share price 

movements or impairments in value 

and realisations

£6.5m  

(2015: £86.2m)

To develop IP-based businesses and grow 
their value

1   2   5

Indirectly impacts both net 
assets and Group profit/loss 
(See above)

Proceeds from sale of equity 

investments

The total amount received from 

the disposal of interests in portfolio 

companies

£14.7m  

(2015: £0.6m)

Cash from proceeds can be used for 
redeployment into the portfolio or for new 
opportunities

1   2   5

Indirectly impacts both net 
assets and Group profit/loss 
(See above)

NON-FINANCIAL KPIS

Number of new  

portfolio companies

The number of portfolio companies 

that received initial capital from the 

Group during the year

20 

(2015: 14)

Build and maintain a pipeline of IP-based 
opportunities and develop these into robust 
businesses

3   4   5   6

Indirectly impacts both net 
assets and Group profit/loss 
(See above)

  For more information  
on our strategy  
see pages 14 and 15

  For more information  
on our risk management  
see pages 38 to 45

  For more information  
on our remuneration  
see pages 69 to 87

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

17

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comOperational review

The strength of IP Group’s portfolio, 
combined with the opportunities we 
continue to see, give us confidence  
for 2017 and beyond 
Alan Aubrey Chief Executive Officer

2016 was another productive year for the Group 
that saw our portfolio companies record impressive 
commercial progress but also raise a total of 
approximately £230m (2015: approximately £300m). 
In addition, Oxford Sciences Innovation plc (“OSI”) 
and Cambridge Innovation Capital plc (“CIC”), the 
dedicated university commercialisation vehicles in 
which the Group has a strategic holding, completed 
significant capital raises of £230m and £75m 
respectively.

The total fair value of the Group’s portfolio, which 
now comprises holdings in 90 companies, increased 
by 11.3% in 2016 to £614.0m (2015: £552.2m), 
representing a net fair value increase, excluding net 
investment, of £6.5m (2015: £86.2m). This increase 
was driven primarily by a number of larger private 
company transactions towards the end of 2016, which 
were partially offset by reductions in the share prices 
of a number of our quoted portfolio companies. The 
latter were impacted by a generally weaker appetite 
for listed small-cap and biotech assets despite 
generally reporting positive commercial and technical 
progress during the year.

The key positive contributors to the increase in fair 
value in 2016 were Oxford Nanopore Technologies 
Limited (£33.8m), OSI (£8.0m), Tissue Regenix Group 
plc (£5.2m) and Mirriad Advertising Limited (£4.9m).

The most significant fair value reductions were seen 
in the Group’s AIM-quoted portfolio companies 
including Diurnal Group plc (£10.3m), Avacta Group 
plc (£9.9m), hVivo plc (£7.2m) and Xeros Technology 
Group plc (£3.2m). In addition, six private companies 
each saw fair value reductions of £1-2m as a result 
of financing rounds, anticipated financing rounds or 
progress towards milestones that was not in line with 
the Group’s expectations, totalling £7.9m.

During 2016, the Group provided £58.8m of 
incubation, seed and development capital to 55 
portfolio companies (2015: £75.9m capital; 53 
companies) as well participating in significant 
financings for its strategic holdings OSI (£7.5m) and 
CIC (£3.4m).

Cash realisations from the portfolio increased 
significantly during 2016 to £14.7m (2015: £0.6m) 
largely as a result of the second largest exit in the 
Group’s history with the sale of our entire holding in 
Tracsis plc.

Significant portfolio company 
transactions and developments
Notable highlights in the portfolio in 2016 included:

In Healthcare, Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited 
announced a £100m fundraising in December, led 
by new investor GT Healthcare, a pan-Asian fund 
with special reach in China. Nanopore, which has 
designed and sells the world’s only portable DNA/
RNA sequencer, plans to use the funds to expand its 
commercial operations across a range of territories, 
including in Asia. It also announced a number of key 
developments including announcing a new pipeline 
product, SmidgION, the smallest ever sequencing 
device that can be plugged into a smartphone and is 
expected in 2017.

In Technology, we exited Tracsis plc, as noted above, 
while the division’s most valuable company holding, 
Actual Experience plc, announced a five-year 
framework agreement with Vodafone, adding to the 
contract wins announced during 2015 which included 
a major three-year partnership with Verizon. 

In Cleantech, Ceres Power Holdings plc completed 
a £20m fundraising and secured development 
agreements with a number of leading OEMs including 
Honda, Nissan and Cummins. 

18

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

at £7.9m ($9.9m). The Group committed a further 
£2.9m ($3.7m) to Exyn Technologies and Uniformity 
Labs as part of these funding rounds which included 
both new and existing US and UK based investors. 

During the year, notable incubation financings 
were also completed for two spin-out companies 
from the University of Pennsylvania, two spin-out 
companies from Princeton University and one spin-
out company from Columbia University. The Group 
has also provided further incubation funding to 
pursue additional opportunities from our Federal 
Lab initiative through FedImpact LLC, including the 
spin-out of MobilION Systems, Inc. from the Pacific 
Northwest National Laboratory.

Outlook
The Board continues to believe the fundamentals 
of the business remain strong although, as ever, it 
is important to consider the Group as a long-term 
business where results can fluctuate from year to 
year. The strength of IP Group’s portfolio, however, 
combined with the opportunities we continue to see, 
give us continued confidence for the current year and 
beyond.

In Biotech, there was excellent commercial progress 
from Diurnal Group plc which now has two products 
in Phase 3 studies, Infacort and Chronocort, for the 
treatment of the childhood and adult forms of adrenal 
insufficiency, respectively. Modern Biosciences 
plc, a drug discovery and development operation, 
continued to make good progress during 2016 and 
expects the outcome of ongoing Phase 1a studies 
for MBS2320, a novel agent for the treatment of 
rheumatoid arthritis, during 2017.

More detail on the performance of the assets in our 
four sectors, Healthcare, Technology, Cleantech and 
Biotech, is contained in the portfolio review.

The US
In the US, the Group signed agreements with the 
University of Washington and The Johns Hopkins 
University. Both universities have consistently ranked 
in the top ten of all US universities with regards to 
the quantum of their annual R&D budgets (2016: 
$1.1bn and $2.1bn, respectively) and are known for the 
quality and breadth of their technical output. Having 
now moved beyond the initial pilot phase agreements 
with our existing university partners, Columbia 
University, University of Pennsylvania and Princeton 
University, the Group continues to focus on building 
on the progress achieved with them to date.

Our US team, which comprised eleven FTEs at 
the end of 2016, continues to develop an exciting 
portfolio of companies. IP Group’s first two portfolio 
companies from US university partners, Exyn 
Technologies (University of Pennsylvania) and 
Uniformity Labs (Princeton University), raised a 
combined £5.4m3 ($6.8m) in new post seed financing 
rounds via private placement of ordinary shares. The 
Uniformity Labs transaction completed at the end 
of 2016 while the Exyn transaction closed in early 
2017. Following completion of the financing rounds, 
IP Group’s combined undiluted beneficial holdings in 
Exyn Technologies and Uniformity Labs were valued 

3.  Calculated using an exchange rate of £1 to $1.26

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

19

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review

Our portfolio:  
Continuing to develop and mature

Overview
At 31 December 2016 the value of the Group’s 
portfolio had increased to £614.0m, from £552.2m in 
2015, reflecting a net investment of £55.0m and the 
fair value movements set out below. The portfolio 
consists of interests in 90 companies (79 UK and  
11 US), strategic holdings in three multi-sector 
platform businesses as well as a further 20 de minimis 
holdings (2015: 82,3,15). Of these 90 holdings, the ten 
most valuable portfolio companies account for 76% of 
the total value (2015: 75%).

During the year to 31 December 2016, the Group 
provided pre-seed, seed and post-seed capital 
totalling approximately £69.7m to its portfolio 
companies, including investments in two of its multi-
sector platform holdings Oxford Sciences Innovation 
plc (£7.5m) as part of its recent £230m financing 
and Cambridge Innovations Capital plc (£3.4m) as 
part of its £75m financing round. Excluding multi-
sector platform investments, this £58.8m represents 
a 23% decrease on the equivalent £75.9m provided 
to portfolio companies in 2015 and results from 
fewer of the Group’s largest holdings seeking finance 
in 2016. The Directors continue to believe that the 
Group’s ability to utilise its capital to maintain its 
equity interests in its most promising companies will 
contribute to significant potential fair value increases 
in the portfolio over the medium to long term.

In contrast to the decreased level of capital deployed 
into portfolio company opportunities, the Group 
increased the rate of new spin-out opportunity 
formation. The Group deployed capital for the first 
time into 20 companies or projects during the year 
(2015: 14). With 13 of the opportunities being sourced 
from the UK (2015: 10), and seven from the US (2015: 
four), both geographies demonstrated a consistent 
pipeline of opportunities. Three companies were sold 
during the period (2015: four), while a further four 
companies, with a total historic cost of £4.8m, were 
closed or fully provided against.

During the year, cash proceeds from the realisation 
of investments increased to £14.7m (2015: £0.6m). 
The proceeds were primarily driven by the disposal 
of interests in Tracsis plc, Gold Standard Simulations 
Limited and Summit Therapeutics plc, as well as 
deferred consideration from the 2014 disposal of 
Rock Deformation Research Limited, whilst prior 
year realisations predominantly arose from the cash 
received on the wind-up of CH4e Limited.

Performance summary
A summary of the Income Statement gains and losses 
which are directly attributable to the portfolio is as 
follows: 

Unrealised gains on the 
revaluation of investments

Unrealised losses on the 
revaluation of investments

Effects of movement in 
exchange rates

Change in fair value of equity 
and debt investments

Loss on disposals of equity 
investments

2016
 £m

56.6

2015
£m

115.3

(50.3)

(29.0)

0.7

7.0

0.1

86.4

(0.5)

(0.2)

Net portfolio gains

6.5

86.2

The most significant contributors to unrealised 
gains on the revaluation of investments comprised 
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited (£33.8m), 
Oxford Sciences Innovation Plc (£8.0m), Tissue 
Regenix plc (£5.2m), and Mirriad Advertising Limited 
(£4.9m). The major contributors to the unrealised 
losses on the revaluation of investments were Diurnal 
Group plc (£10.3m), Avacta Group plc (£9.9m), and 
hVivo plc (£7.2m).

The performance of the Group’s holdings in 
companies quoted on AIM saw a net unrealised fair 
value decrease of £36.1m while the Group’s holdings 
in unquoted companies experienced a net fair 
value increase of £43.1m. Excluding the net amount 
invested during the year, the Group’s listed portfolio 
decreased in fair value by 18.0%, versus an increase in 
the FTSE AIM All Share index of 14.3%.

20

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Since the year end, i.e. between 31 December 2016 
and 3 March 2017, the fair value of the Group’s 
holdings in companies whose shares are listed on  
the AIM market experienced a net fair value increase 
of £9.9m.

Investments and realisations
The Group’s overall rate of capital deployment 
decreased during 2016, with a total of £58.8m  
being deployed across 55 new and existing projects 
(2015: £75.9m; 53 projects), excluding the £7.5m and 
£3.4m strategic investments into OSI and CIC (2015: 
£40.0m; £nil).

The average level of capital deployed per company 
decreased from £2.1m to £1.2m in 2016. Excluding 
the Group’s participation in Oxford Nanopore 
Technologies Limited’s 2015 and 2016 financing 
rounds, as well as the Group’s participation in the 
Oxford Sciences Innovation plc’s 2015 and 2016 
financing rounds, the average investment per 
company was £0.7m in 2016 (2015: £1.2m). 

Cash invested by company stage was as follows:

Focus

Development

Early stage

Total

Multi-sector platforms

Total purchase of equity and 
debt investments

Cash proceeds from sales of 
equity investments

2016
 £m

39.0

10.8

9.0

58.8

10.9

69.7

2015
 £m

60.0

10.7

5.2

75.9

40.0

115.9

14.7

0.6

Net investment

55.0

115.3

Early-stage companies include both incubation 
and seed opportunities. Incubation opportunities 
comprise businesses or pre-incorporation 
projects that are generally at a very early stage 
of development, at most within three years since 

the Group’s first financing, and have received at 
least one stage of funding. Opportunities at this 
stage usually involve capital of less than £0.2m 
from IP Group, predominantly allowing for proof of 
concept work to be carried out. Seed businesses 
are those that have typically received financing 
of up to £1m in total, primarily from the Group, in 
order to continue towards agreed commercial and 
technology milestones and to enable the recruitment 
of management teams and early commercial 
engagement. 

Portfolio companies which are classed as being in the 
Focus stage are those portfolio companies (excluding 
multi-sector platform companies) in which the 
Group’s holding has a fair value in excess of £4.0m.

The Development stage group includes other 
businesses to which the Group has provided in excess 
of £0.5m as principal investor, or in excess of £1.0m of 
funding in conjunction with other significant investors. 
Although each business can vary significantly in its 
rate and manner of development, such additional 
funding is generally used to progress towards key 
milestones and commercial validation, to build 
senior level capability in the business and to attract 
experienced non-executive directors to their boards. 

The multi-sector platform companies in which the 
Group has taken a strategic stake operate a similar 
business model of sourcing and developing university 
spin-outs, typically from a single institution.

Those companies which either do not progress 
beyond the incubation stage within three years of 
the Group’s initial funding and/or whose value has 
subsequently fallen to below £0.1m but remain as 
an operating business are classed as de minimis 
holdings. 

The Group has continued to contribute to the 
development of its post-seed businesses with a 
number announcing further financings supported 
by the Group and/or IP Venture Fund (“IPVF”), the 
dedicated follow-on venture capital fund managed 
by the Group. With IPVF approaching the end of 

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21

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
Portfolio review CONTINUED

its term, the amount the fund invested into existing 
Group portfolio businesses during the year was 
£0.2m (2015: £nil). 

Since its inception in May 2013, IP Venture Fund 
II (“IPVFII”), the £30m venture capital successor 
fund to IP Venture Fund, has invested alongside the 
Group in 27 companies spun-out from IP Group’s 
university partnerships and other collaborations. At 
31 December 2016, IPVFII had invested £10.6m into 
spin-out companies from incubation stage through 
seed and post-seed stage (2015: £8.2m), with an 
investment ratio of 30:70 (IP Venture Fund II: IP 
Group). Further, IP Group holds a 33% interest in 
IP Venture Fund II. In complying with IFRS 10, the 
Group consolidates the assets, liabilities and results 
of IPVFII. In order to reflect meaningful information 
to its shareholders, the detailed sectoral analysis 
tables included in this Portfolio review reflect the 
Group’s economic interest in portfolio company 
holdings, including an estimate of its “look through” 
interest via IPVFII, which as noted above is calculated 
as one third of IPVFII’s holdings in such companies. 
The minority interest ownership, i.e. that element 
of IPVFII’s holdings that is attributable to external 
limited partners, is reflected in a separate section 
within those tables. 

During the year, 19 opportunities received initial 
incubation or seed funding (2015: 13) and one 
company received initial post-seed funding (2015: 
one), while the Group received founder equity in one 
further new spin-out company under the terms of its 
university agreements. During the period six existing 
incubation projects progressed to seed or post-seed 
stage (2015: five). 

The 20 new opportunities included the following, 
and some further discussion of new opportunities is 
included in portfolio analysis — by sector below: 

 • Microbiotica Limited is a newly formed spin-

out company from the Wellcome Trust Sanger 
Institute (“the Sanger Institute”) established to 
commercialise the Sanger Institute’s ground-
breaking research into the role of the human 
microbiome in disease. 

 • Heliochrome Limited (University of Cambridge) 
is developing perovskite-based light-emitting 
devices for next generation displays. They enhance 
the colour quality and enable flexible design of 
displays, bringing visual experience to the next 
level;

 • Lumiode Inc (Columbia University) is a New York 
City-based semiconductor start-up building the 
next generation of microdisplay technologies for 
head-worn, high brightness, augmented reality 
systems.

Portfolio analysis by stage of company maturity
At 31 December 2016, the Group’s portfolio fair value of £614.0m was distributed across stages of company 
maturity as follows:

As at 31 December 2016

As at 31 December 2015

Stage

Focus

Development

Early-stage

Total

Fair value
£m

473.3

57.0

20.3

%

86%

10%

4%

550.61

100%

Multi-sector platforms

De minimis holdings

Total Portfolio

62.5

0.9

614.0

–

–

–

Number

19

32

39

90

3

20

113

%

21%

36%

43%

Fair value
£m

435.8 

57.6 

13.2 

%

86%

11%

3%

100%

506.61 

100%

–

–

–

45.2 

0.4

552.2

–

–

–

Number

18

34

30

82

3

15

100

%

22%

41%

37%

100%

–

–

–

1. 

 Total fair value includes £9.2m (2015: £8.5m) attributable to minority interests represented by third party limited partners in the consolidated fund, 

IPVFII

22

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Of the 90 companies in the Group’s portfolio, 76% (2015: 75%) of the fair value resides in the ten most valuable 
companies and the Group’s holdings in these businesses are valued at a total of £418.2m (2015: £414.0m). 

The total value of the Group’s 90 portfolio companies (excluding multi-sector platforms and de minimis 
holdings), calculated by reference to the Group’s holding in such companies and grossed up to reflect their 
total value, is now in excess of £2.7bn, or approximately £3.3bn including the Group’s three holdings in multi-
sector platform companies (Oxford Sciences Innovation plc, Cambridge Innovation Capital plc and Frontier IP 
Group plc).

Portfolio analysis by sector
The Group funds spin-out companies based on a wide variety of scientific research emerging from leading 
research intensive institutions and does not limit itself to funding companies from particular areas of science. 
The Group splits its core opportunity evaluation and business building team into four specialist divisions, 
Biotech, Cleantech, Healthcare and Technology. Where the Group invests in businesses that cannot be 
classified within these divisions, primarily those portfolio companies which also invest in other opportunities, 
they are recorded in a separate sector as shown below. Together these five sectors make up the university 
partnership business segment. An update on the other two operating segments is included in the financial 
review on pages 34 to 37.

As at 31 December 2016

As at 31 December 2015

Sector

Healthcare

Technology

Cleantech

Biotech

Total

Fair value
£m

328.0

93.6

76.9

52.1

%

60%

17%

14%

9%

550.61

100%

Multi-sector platforms

De minimis holdings

Total Portfolio

62.5

0.9

614.0

–

–

–

Number

27

31

20

12

90

3

20

113

%

29%

36%

22%

13%

Fair value
£m

277.6 

91.6 

69.0 

68.4 

%

55%

18%

14%

13%

100%

506.61 

100%

–

–

–

45.2 

0.4

552.2

–

–

–

Number

27

27

19

9

82

3

15

100

%

33%

33%

23%

11%

100%

–

–

–

1. 

 Total fair value includes £9.2m (2015: £8.5m) attributable to minority interests represented by third party limited partners in the consolidated 

fund, IPVFII

As can be seen from the table, the Group’s portfolio by number of companies is well diversified across its 
four main sectors. By fair value, however, the portfolio is currently more concentrated in the healthcare sector, 
largely as a result of the relative valuations of the Group’s holdings in Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited, 
hVIVO plc and Tissue Regenix Group plc. 

A more detailed analysis of each sector follows.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

23

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review Healthcare

Oxford Nanopore completed a £100m 
private financing, valuing the business 
at £1.25bn 
Mark Warne Head, Healthcare

Purpose
IP Healthcare finds and supports innovations to 
improve health outcomes and that are sustainable in 
a world where the funding of healthcare is subject to 
fundamental change. 

Review of the year
Oxford Nanopore
As in 2015, the largest amount of capital, £19.5m, 
was contributed to Oxford Nanopore, the Group’s 
most valuable portfolio company holding. Oxford 
Nanopore has developed the world’s first and only 
nanopore DNA/RNA sequencer and has a goal 
to enable the analysis of any living thing, by any 
person, in any environment. The company’s first 
product is a portable, real time device, the MinION. 
With 512 nanopores available for sequencing in each 
consumable Flow Cell, the MinION is complemented 
by the larger PromethION (144,000 pores 
presented as 48 Flow Cells for modular, on-demand 
sequencing). PromethION is currently being released 
into early access. In a market whose traditional 
technologies are notable for being expensive, large 
instruments where read lengths may be very short 
or data only available after some days, nanopore 
sequencing stands to disrupt the market with its 
unique combination of long read lengths, portability/
scalability, real-time data, low-cost and ease of use. 

To date, more than 110 publications describing various 
applications of nanopore sequencing have been 
released. The rate of publication increased in late 2016 
as newly released versions of the technology yielded 
increasing amounts of high-fidelity data.  The release 
of ‘R9.4’, the company’s newest nanopore, in the 
autumn, delivered higher yields and higher accuracy 
data to users of its technology. This led to the release, 
in December, of the first set of human genomes and 
the first large plant genome datasets created using 
MinION. These are considered a landmark in terms 
of new market possibilities and potential customer 
bases for the company. In 2017, the Company’s CTO 

reported achieving 20 Gb of data from a single 
MinION Flow Cell in internal use, following the release 
of software updates that optimise performance. 
This has significant implications for the competitive 
position of the MinION, progressing it from an 
emerging, disruptive technology to one that has novel 
properties and can outperform many existing systems 
in terms of throughput.

The majority of current users of Oxford Nanopore’s 
technology are scientific researchers, using 
devices for research into areas such as pathogens/
antimicrobial resistance, environment, cancer 
research, human genetics research or a broad range 
of aspects of general genome research. The DNA 
sequencing market for this research market has been 
estimated at approximately $2-3 billion per annum 
based on relatively low penetration of potential users; 
Oxford Nanopore management has always stated 
that it aims to establish its technology in a very broad 
user base.

As research markets become more established for 
the company, it is now preparing to access ‘applied 
markets’. Instead of being interested in performing 
experiments, applied users may want an answer to 
a biological question that is either actionable or has 
inherent value. Potential applied markets include 
healthcare (diagnostics/oncology/reproductive 
health), industrial supply chain monitoring (food/
water), industrial inspection (pest control/ 
environmental/ customs) or agricultural (surveillance 
of livestock/fish/crops) and many of these are 
potentially billion dollar markets in their own right. 
Oxford Nanopore believes that different products, 
commercial structures and mechanisms are required 
to open up and develop sales in these markets. 
The company has created a fully owned company, 
Metrichor Ltd, to provide end to end analysis 
solutions for applied markets.

24

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Strategic Report Our Performance

Oxford Nanopore has just  
launched the GridION X5,  
a new sequencing  
system that can drive up 
to five MinION Flow Cells 
and process all the data 
produced within a single 
benchtop device.

Further, DNA extraction and preparation for 
sequencing has traditionally been a barrier to wider 
adoption, as it has been time consuming, complex 
and expensive. Having already reduced library 
preparation (extracted DNA to instrument) to a 
10-minute process with minimal skill or consumables 
required, Oxford Nanopore has recently released 
VolTRAX, a USB-powered, automated library 
preparation device to early users. It is designed 
to offer consistent, hands-off processes in any 
environment that would normally be performed by a 
person in a lab, facilitating wider adoption.

In terms of the competitive landscape, during 2016, 
US-based Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. 
filed a complaint with the US International Trade 
Commission alleging that the company is infringing a 
granted US patent. This followed a similar action by 
Illumina that was settled by the parties earlier in 2016. 
On 3 November, the Company issued a statement 
that said, in its opinion, the action by Pacific 
Biosciences was “…without merit”. Oxford Nanopore 
has an intellectual property portfolio of more than 
500 issued patents and patent applications, in 

over 120 patent families. These cover all aspects of 
nanopore sensing including fundamental patents 
for nanopore sensing, and patents relating to DNA-
sequencing.

The company has a product pipeline that is designed 
not only to extend existing customer usage but to 
create new markets for biological analysis technology. 
For example Oxford Nanopore is developing an ultra-
portable smartphone sequencer SmidgION, as well 
as Project Zumbador, the development of a universal, 
low-cost, integrated sample and library preparation 
device for inexpert users. 

The company intends to use the proceeds from its 
£100m December private financing, which valued 
the business at £1.25bn, to expand its commercial 
operations across a range of territories, including in 
Asia.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

25

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review Healthcare

Other significant portfolio  
company updates
Looking to our larger publicly listed holdings, 
the year was mixed. Tissue Regenix has made 
good commercial progress with US sales, the 
announcement of Group Purchasing Organisation 
contracts with US healthcare providers and ongoing 
success in its clinical development programmes, and 
the company’s share price increased during the year. 
Meanwhile the hVIVO plc share price performed 
disappointingly. The company carried out three 
exploratory studies on the drug PrEP-001, with the 
results published in January 2017 showing mixed 
success. While two of the exploratory studies did not 
meet their primary endpoints, they provided valuable 
insights for PrEP-001 and build on the profile of the 
drug following the previously reported positive proof 
of concept trials in flu and the common cold.

For the smaller publicly listed holdings, the year 
was equally mixed. A patent litigation, which was 
settled in December, for Medaphor Group plc put 
severe downward pressure on the share price 
following its successful acquisition and placing early 
in the year, resulting in a net fair value decrease of 
£2.5m for the year. Ixico plc’s share price, however, 
performed reasonably well following board changes 
and disclosure of its income generating patient 
stratification programme in partnership with Biogen.

During the year, Oxford Nanopore aside, highlights in 
the private portfolio included:

 • Creavo Medical Technologies Limited (previously 
Quantum Imaging Limited) – successful product 
development leading to award of VitalScan CE 
Mark in November 2016. The successful receipt of 
the CE mark means that the device has started a 
large scale, multi-centre clinical trial at four of the 
UK’s major A&E departments, followed by second 
stage trials at three centres in the US.

 • Oxehealth Limited – completion of a £2.5m 

financing concurrent with strengthening its board 
and the executive as the company entered into 
its first material commercial engagement with 
Hanwha Techwin and the successful completion 
of a trial of its Oxecam patient safety monitoring 
software at Broadmoor Mental Health Hospital. 
Oxehealth was also one of five finalists competing 
for the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield finals 
at TechCrunch Disrupt London, having been 
shortlisted from over 500 entries and successfully 
making it through the preliminary round.

 • Genomics plc – Appointed as Analysis Partner 

for the Genomics England GENE consortium and, 
working alongside the Wellcome Trust Centre 
for Human Genetics, was the first to Sequence 
Multiple Human Genomes using hand-held 
Nanopore Technology demonstrating the potential 
for wide-scale whole-genome sequencing in 
humans using nanopore approaches.

Working with the New Business and Partnerships 
team, IP Healthcare also completed or approved five 
new grub investments, ensuring a steady pipeline of 
high-growth opportunities as we head into 2017 and 
beyond.

26

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Year to 31 December 2016

Group 
stake
at 31 Dec
2016
%

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2015
£m

Net
 investment/ 
(divestment) 
£m

Fair value 
movement 
and fees 
settled in 
equity 
£m

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2016
£m

Quoted/
Unquoted
%

Unquoted

19.6%

193.0

19.5

33.8

246.3

Company name

Description

Oxford Nanopore 
Technologies 
Limited 

hVIVO plc

Tissue Regenix 
Group plc

Creavo Medical 
Technologies 
Limited(ii)

Alesi Surgical 
Limited

Genomics plc

Enabling the analysis of 
any living thing, by any 
person, in any environment. 
Developer of the portable, 
real time, long-read, low cost 
MinION nanopore DNA/RNA 
sequencer

World leader in human 
models of viral disease

Regenerative dCELL® soft 
tissue body parts

Quoted

16.7%

29.0

Quoted

13.6%

15.5

6.5

Quantum cardiac imaging 
technology

Unquoted

48.1%

Medical devices to improve 
the safety and efficiency of 
laparoscopic surgery

Platform for analysis and 
interpretation of genomic 
sequence data 

Unquoted

58.8%(i)

6.5

Unquoted

19.0%

4.9 

—

—

—

—

—

(7.2)

5.2

—

(1.2)

—

(2.9)

(0.7)

27.0

21.8

20.7

6.5

5.3

4.9

17.7

4.8

328.0

Other companies (21 companies) 

Value not attributable to equity holders

Total(iii)

17.3

4.9

277.6

3.3

0.6

23.4

(i) 

 Represents the Group’s undiluted beneficial economic equity interest (excluding debt) including the portion of IPVFII’s stake attributable to the 
Group. Voting interest is below 50%.

(ii)  Formerly known as Quantum Imaging Limited.

(iii)   Total now excludes investments classified as de minimis holdings; 2015 comparatives have been restated.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

27

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review Technology

The technology division was 
responsible for the second largest  
exit in the Group’s history 
Mark Reilly Head, Technology

Purpose
The aim of the Technology division is to “shape the 
future” by commercialising innovative technologies 
derived from our partner research institutions. 
The division covers a broad spectrum of scientific 
fields from advanced materials, through the various 
disciplines of chemical, mechanical, electrical 
and electronic engineering, to information and 
communications technologies, including both 
hardware and software. 

Review of the year
In March 2016, the Technology division was 
responsible for the second largest exit in the history 
of IP Group. The sale of the Group’s stake in Tracsis 
plc yielded proceeds of £13.1m after fees, which, when 
taken with dividends and other proceeds received to 
date, reflects a multiple of approximately 38 times 
the £0.4m that IP Group had historically invested 
in the company. IP Group was the first investor in 
Tracsis when it originally spun-out from the University 
of Leeds and supported the company throughout 
its early stages of growth. We are proud of all that 
has been achieved in building a successful company 
that we believe will continue to return value to 
shareholders.

Elsewhere in the portfolio, the division’s most valuable 
asset, Actual Experience plc, announced two new 
major partnership deals. The first, a 5-year framework 
agreement with Vodafone, was signed in March, 
followed by a 3-year framework agreement with 
Proquire, the procurement arm of Accenture plc, in 
November. Whilst it takes time to gather momentum 
with such huge partner organisations, the agreements 
announced so far represent major milestones and we 
believe that they will yield significant financial benefit 
for Actual Experience in the medium term.

Positive developments continue apace at remote 
haptic feedback pioneer Ultrahaptics. The University 
of Bristol spin-out is increasingly being considered 
as one of the UK’s most promising early-stage 
technology start-ups. A list of prestigious industry 
awards has accompanied growing revenue as 
customers pay for integration of the Ultrahaptics 
technology into cars and consumer electronics 
devices. We expect more significant commercial 
progress in 2017 and are optimistic that early royalty 
revenue will begin to flow during the year.

We are also pleased with the commercial progress 
made during the year at Mirriad, an exciting company 
with an innovative, patented computer vision 
technology that can retrospectively insert advertising 
and branded products into existing video content. 
The company has begun to see encouraging levels of 
adoption with some key, high-value customers and 
anticipates rapid growth in 2017.

It has been a challenging year for some of the 
division’s quoted assets, with both Revolymer plc 
and Applied Graphene Materials plc in particular 
suffering from considerable share price headwinds. 
We do not believe that the price movement in the 
year necessarily reflects the underlying progress over 
the same period at either company, and, indeed, both 
have seen worthwhile commercial developments 
during the year, so we are hopeful that both 
businesses will become more valuable in 2017 and 
beyond.

28

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Company name

Description

Actual Experience 
plc 

Optimising the human 
experience of networked 
applications

Tracsis plc

Mirriad 
Advertising 
Limited

Resource optimisation 
software for the transport 
industry

Native in-video advertising 
allowing post-production ad 
placement

Ultrahaptics 
Holdings Limited(ii)

Contactless haptic 
technology “feeling without 
touching”

Applied Graphene 
Materials plc

Producer of speciality 
graphene materials

Uniformity Labs 
Inc

Perpetuum 
Limited

Equipment, materials and 
software for additive 
manufacturing

Self-powered, wireless 
sensing technology

Other companies (24 companies)

Value not attributable to equity holders

Total(iii)

Year to 31 December 2016

Group 
stake
at 31 Dec
2016(i)
%

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2015
£m

Net
 investment/ 
(divestment) 
£m

Fair value 
movement 
and fees 
settled in 
equity 
£m

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2016
£m

Quoted/
Unquoted
%

Quoted

24.9%

23.8

—

(0.4)

23.4 

Quoted

—

14.6

(14.6)

—

Unquoted

38.9%

4.5

4.0

4.9

Unquoted

33.8%

7.9

Quoted

20.8%

Unquoted

25.1%

6.0

0.2

Unquoted

29.2%

3.4

28.8

2.4

91.6

—

2.0

2.5

0.7

7.5

—

2.1

—

(2.2)

2.4

—

(4.8)

—

(0.1)

—

13.4

7.9

5.8

5.1

4.1

31.5

2.4

93.6

(i) 

 Represents the Group’s undiluted beneficial economic equity interest (excluding debt) including the portion of IPVFII’s stake attributable to the 
Group. 

(ii)  Formerly known as Ultrahaptics Limited.

(iii)   Total now excludes investments classified as de minimis holdings; 2015 comparatives have been restated.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

29

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review Cleantech

Ceres Power made strong  
commercial progress and completed  
a £20m fundraising 
Robert Trezona Head, Cleantech

Purpose
IP Cleantech finds, funds and builds outstanding, 
science-based businesses that mitigate the impacts 
of climate change and other environmental 
challenges. 

Review of the year
2016 has been a mixed year, with commercial 
progress in key assets offset by challenging capital 
market conditions; public capital markets in particular 
were affected at various times by political uncertainty. 
Most notably, the outcome of the US presidential 
election impacted sentiment towards the prospects 
for many cleantech companies around the world. 
However, against this backdrop, IP Cleantech 
completed several funding rounds, which is testament 
to the strength of our portfolio and reputation. 

Ceres Power Holdings plc, our fuel cell company, 
has had a successful year. Its strategy is to provide 
technology to leading corporate OEMs who have 
the brands and balance sheets to take the Ceres 
technology to mass markets. The company’s key 
objective for the year was to secure development 
agreements and it exceeded expectations in signing 
up 3 leading OEMs: Honda, Nissan and Cummins.

The Honda agreement was announced in January. 
Honda produces over six million power products a 
year and is a world leader in small generators and 
engines. Ceres was then approached by Nissan, which 
was looking for a robust, flexible fuel cell technology 
as a range extender for electric vehicles. In June the 
two companies announced an agreement to develop 
Ceres’s first automotive system. In September Ceres 
secured the third contract, with global power systems 
company Cummins, to develop a power system for 
use in data centres, a rapidly-growing market that 
already accounts for around 2% of global electricity 
consumption. Following this strong commercial 
progress, the company raised £20.0m in October. This 

new capital will provide the financial strength to move 
from development to commercial programmes while 
maintaining technology leadership. 

Our off-grid solar business, Azuri had a successful 
2016 and has now deployed over 40,000 home 
systems in Africa. The company raised £8.0m in 
November and continues to innovate. In April Azuri 
launched Homesmart, using machine-learning 
algorithms to maximise the duration of light output 
from its products in response to customer behaviour 
and climatic conditions. In December, it launched the 
first complete pay-as-you-go solar satellite TV system 
in Kenya. 

Xeros Technology Group plc also made strong 
commercial progress; this progress did not appear 
to have been reflected in the company’s share price 
during the year, which remains relatively volatile. 
The company continued to expand its commercial 
laundry business, broadening its product offerings 
and partnering with eLaundry to launch a laundry-
as-a-service offer. Beyond laundry, Xeros is making 
strides in the leather industry, completing a successful 
full-scale trial with a leading leather tannery.

However, despite the strong commercial performance 
of Ceres and Xeros in particular, the overall Cleantech 
portfolio performance for the year from a fair 
value perspective has been disappointing. We are, 
nonetheless, confident about the portfolio and 
the sector in the long term. The sector received 
a boost in December, with the announcement of 
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (“BEV”). BEV is a 
$1bn Cleantech fund backed by 20 of the world’s 
richest entrepreneurs, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, 
Vinod Khosla and Jack Ma. This commitment from 
high profile figures is a vote of confidence and IP 
Cleantech is planning to collaborate with BEV and 
other recently-formed Cleantech funds in Europe  
in 2017.

30

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Company name

Description

Xeros Technology 
Group plc

Polymer bead, near-
waterless cleaning for 
commercial laundry

Ceres Power 
Holdings plc 

World leading developer 
of next generation fuel cell 
technology

First Light Fusion 
Limited

New methodology for 
achieving extreme intensity 
cavity collapse

Azuri 
Technologies 
Limited

Pay-as-you-go solar power 
for off-grid customers in 
rural emerging markets

Other companies (16 companies)

Value not attributable to equity holders

Total(iii)

Year to 31 December 2016

Group 
stake
at 31 Dec
2016(i)
%

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2015
£m

Net
 investment/ 
(divestment) 
£m

Quoted/
Unquoted 

Quoted

11.5%

23.4

Quoted

25.5%

12.2

Unquoted

34.9%

13.9

Unquoted

34.6%

1.6

16.6

1.3

69.0

—

6.6

—

2.9

3.3

0.9

13.7

Fair value 
movement 
and fees 
settled in 
equity 
£m

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2016
£m

(3.2)

20.2

(0.8)

18.0

—

1.0

(3.0)

0.2

(5.8)

13.9

5.5

16.9

2.4

76.9

(i) 

 Represents the Group’s undiluted beneficial economic equity interest (excluding debt) including the portion of IPVFII’s stake attributable to the 
Group. 

(ii)  Total now excludes investments classified as de minimis holdings; 2015 comparatives have been restated.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

31

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comPortfolio review Biotech

Diurnal made excellent progress 
during 2016 and regulatory approval of 
Infacort and potential first sales  
are expected in 2017 
Dr Sam Williams Head, Biotech

The Group’s other key biotech asset is Modern 
Biosciences plc (“MBS”), a drug discovery and 
development operation. MBS has continued to make 
good progress during 2016 with MBS2320, a novel 
agent for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis 
(“RA”). MBS2320 is unique amongst RA drugs in 
its mechanism of action which appears to not only 
reduce the inflammation associated with RA, but to 
also potentially reverse some of the bone damage 
that this inflammation causes. MBS2320 is partnered 
with Janssen Biotech Inc. and MBS expects the 
outcome of ongoing Phase 1a studies during 2017. 
MBS is a majority-owned subsidiary of the Group 
and, hence, its results are consolidated in the Group 
financials rather than being included in the portfolio 
valuation.

Elsewhere, Asterion Limited continues to develop 
its recombinant growth hormone fusion for the 
treatment of acromegaly-related growth disorder 
towards clinical trials, helped by a £2.4m Medical 
Research Council grant. Asterion represents the 
Group’s second majority-controlled drug discovery 
asset. Glythera Limited continues to make headway 
in the area of antibody-drug conjugates (“ADCs”), 
demonstrating that its Permalink technology has 
significant safety advantages over current methods of 
making ADCs for the treatment of cancer.

Purpose
The aim of the Biotech division is to support the 
discovery and development of breakthrough 
therapeutics, achieved either by in-house 
development of proprietary products licensed 
directly into the Group or via the more conventional 
development and financing of portfolio companies. 

Review of the year
The most valuable and advanced of the Group’s 
biotech assets is Diurnal Group plc, which was floated 
successfully on AIM towards the very end of 2015. 
A spin-out from the University of Sheffield, Diurnal 
has two products in Phase 3 studies, Infacort and 
Chronocort, for the treatment of the childhood and 
adult forms of adrenal insufficiency, respectively. 
During 2016, the company made excellent progress, 
initiating a pivotal European Phase 3 for Chronocort, 
announcing positive results from its European  
Phase 3 Infacort study and moving its next product, 
a native oral testosterone product for testosterone 
deficiency, into Phase 1. Unfortunately, due in our 
view to low trading volumes and selling by minority 
shareholders, the shares have not performed as well 
as the company, but we remain confident of the 
company’s fundamental positioning, with regulatory 
approval of Infacort and potential first sales expected 
in 2017, along with the initiation of Phase 3 studies for 
both products in the US.

Avacta Group plc, the Biotech division’s other listed 
biotech asset, continues to develop its Affimer 
platform in the therapeutic space, demonstrating that 
the technology has the ability to create high-affinity 
binders for a range of therapeutically important 
targets, including the checkpoint proteins in cancer. 
The company’s poor share price performance during 
the year did not appear to be consistent with a 
number of strong commercial updates. 

32

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

Year to 31 December 2016

Group 
stake
at 31 Dec
2016(i)
%

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2015
£m

Net
 investment/ 
(divestment) 
£m

Quoted/
Unquoted

Quoted

45.0%

39.6

Company name

Description

Diurnal Group plc Novel treatments of 
hormone deficiency

Avacta Group plc Bio-therapeutic affimer 

technology

Quoted

23.1%

Other companies(ii) (10 companies) 

Value not attributable to equity holders

—

Total(iii) 

21.1

7.7

—

68.4

Fair value 
movement 
and fees 
settled in 
equity 
£m

Fair value 
of Group 
holding at 
31 Dec 
2016
£m

(10.3)

29.3

(9.9)

(0.2)

–

(20.4)

11.2

11.6

–

52.1

—

—

4.1

—

4.1

(i) 

 Represents the Group’s undiluted beneficial economic equity interest (excluding debt) including the portion of IPVFII’s stake attributable to the 
Group. 

(ii)  Simm Investments Limited has been reclassified from Multi-sector platforms to Biotech; 2015 comparatives have been restated.

(iii)  Total now excludes investments classified as de minimis holdings; 2015 comparatives have been restated.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

33

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comFinancial review

A strong balance sheet position: £112.3m 
of gross cash and a diversified portfolio 
of investments worth £614.0m 
Greg Smith Chief Financial Officer

Statement of comprehensive income
Overall the Group recorded a loss for the year of £14.8m (2015: profit of £75.1m) and a Return on Hard NAV, i.e. 
on the Group’s net assets excluding goodwill and intangible assets, of negative £7.6m (2015: positive £84.0m). 

A summary analysis of the Group’s financial performance is provided below:

Net portfolio gains 1.

Change in fair value of limited 
and limited liability partnership 
interests

Fair value loss on contingent 
value rights

Licensing income

Other income

Amortisation of intangible 
assets 

Administrative expenses – 
Modern Biosciences 

Administrative expenses – 
other consolidated portfolio 
companies

Administrative expenses – 
performance based staff 
incentives and share based 
payments charge

Administrative expenses – all 
other expenses

Acquisition costs

Net finance income

(Loss)/profit for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive (loss)/
income for the period
Exclude:

Amortisation of intangible 
assets and amortisation of 
Oxford Equity Rights asset

Share based payment charge

Return on Hard NAV

1.  Defined in the Portfolio review section

Net portfolio gains consist primarily of realised 
and unrealised fair value gains and losses from 
the Group’s equity and debt holdings in spin-out 
businesses. A detailed analysis of fair value gains and 
losses is provided in the Portfolio review on pages 20 
to 33.

Other income comprises fund management fees, 
corporate finance fee income and other fees typically 
chargeable to its portfolio companies for services 
including executive search and selection, legal and 
administrative support. Other income for the year 
decreased to £2.6m (2015: £3.6m). The decrease 
was primarily due to lower fund management fees 
due to the end of the investment period for North 
East Technology Fund (“NETF”) in December 2015, 
resulting in a lower management fee being charged 
in the current year. Additionally, there was a lower 
level of corporate finance fee income, reflecting the 
lower level of investment into the portfolio in 2016. In 
2016 we settled approximately half of these fees via 
the receipt of equity in portfolio companies, which 
we believe aligns IP Capital with value creation in 
the portfolio companies that are the subject of its 
mandates.

Fund management fees are received from the 
Group’s three managed funds, two of which also 
have the potential to generate performance fees 
from successful investment performance (IP Venture 
Fund and the NETF). The results of the Group’s third 
managed fund, IPVFII, are consolidated into those 
of the Group and accordingly the fund management 
fees received are not reflected in the statement of 
comprehensive income.

2016
 £m

6.5

(0.3)

(1.4)

0.2

2.6

(5.6)

2015
 £m

86.2

0.4

—

8.1

3.6

(7.3)

(1.4)

(2.5)

(1.1)

(0.3)

(1.5)

(3.4)

(13.0)

(11.0)

(0.4)

0.6

(14.8)

0.1

(14.7)

—

1.3

75.1

0.1

75.2

5.6

7.3

1.5

(7.6)

1.5

84.0

34

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Strategic Report Our Performance

As described in the portfolio review, the results of 
the Group’s drug development subsidiary, MBS, 
are consolidated into those of the Group. MBS 
continues to make good progress in its lead MBS2320 
programme, partnered with Janssen Biotech, Inc. 
The timing of payments under this partnership are 
linked to the development of the programme and 
none were scheduled or paid during the year. All 
development costs are expensed to the income 
statement as they are incurred. MBS continued to 
benefit from the recovery of a proportion of the 
OsteoRx costs through a Biomedical Catalyst grant, 
with the net expense being reflected in the statement 
of comprehensive income. The Group intends to 
continue developing a small number of early-stage 
therapeutic assets.

Included within the Group’s administrative expenses 
are costs in respect of a small number of other 
portfolio companies. Typically, the Group owns a 
non-controlling interest in its portfolio companies 
however, in certain circumstances the Group will take 
a controlling stake and hence consolidate the results 
of a portfolio company into the Group’s financial 
statements. The administrative expenses included 
in the Group’s results for such companies primarily 
comprise staff costs, R&D and other operating 
expenses.

Other central administrative expenses, excluding 
performance-based staff incentives and share based 
payments charges, have increased to £13.0m during 
the period (2015: £11.0m), as a result of increases 
in staffing costs and other overhead costs as we 
continue to build our teams, most notably in the US.

Administrative expenses resulting from performance-
based staff incentives and share-based payment 
charges decreased significantly to £1.5m during 
the period (2015 £3.4m), as the Group’s return on 
Hard NAV during the period is below the minimum 
threshold for any payments to be awarded under the 
Group’s Annual Incentive Scheme. The full current 
year cost therefore relates to the IFRS 2 share-based 
payments charge attributable to the Group’s Long-
Term Incentive Plan and Deferred Bonus Share Plan 
awards schemes. This non-cash charge reflects 
the fair value of services received from employees, 
measured by reference to the fair value of the share-
based payments at the date of award, but has no net 
impact on the Group’s total equity or “net assets”. 

Total Equity (“Net Assets”)
(£m)

781.9

768.7

526.2

336.6

263.1

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

£768.7m

(2015: £781.9m)

Profit/(loss) attributable to  
equity holders
(£m)

72.6

73.9

40.7

9.1

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

(13.5)

£(13.5)m

(2015: £73.9m)

Cash, cash equivalents 
and deposits
(£m)

178.8

112.3

97.3

47.9

24.1

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

£112.3m

(2015: £178.8m)

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

35

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comFinancial review CONTINUED

Statement of financial position
The Group ended the period with net assets 
attributable to shareholders of £768.4m, representing 
a decrease of £12.0m from the position at 1 January 
2016 (£780.4m). As described above, this decrease 
in net assets resulted from the £14.8m loss in the 
year. “Hard” net assets, i.e. those excluding goodwill 
and other intangible assets, totalled £706.5m at 
31 December 2016 (2015: £714.3m). Based on the 
Group’s shares in issue at 31 December 2016 of 
565,221,967, this represents 125.0p per share (2015: 
564,648,168 shares; 126.5p).

The fair value of the intangible assets is amortised 
on a straight line basis over each partnership’s useful 
economic life.

Due to the nature of its activities, the Group has 
limited current assets or current liabilities other than 
its cash and short-term deposit balances, which are 
considered in more detail below.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-
term deposits (“Cash”)
The principal constituents of the movement in Cash 
during the year are summarised as follows:

Total Equity or Net 
Assets

Exclude:

Goodwill

Other intangible assets

Hard NAV

Hard NAV per share

2016
 £m

768.7

(57.1)

(5.1)

706.5

125.0p

2015
 £m

781.9

(57.1)

(10.5)

714.3

126.5p

At 31 December 2016, the Group held gross cash and 
deposits of £112.3m (2015: £178.8m) and a diversified 
portfolio of equity and debt investments in 90 private 
and publicly listed technology companies (2015: 82). 

The value of the Group’s holdings in portfolio 
companies increased to £614.0m at year end  
(2015: £552.2m) after net fair value gains of £6.5m 
(2015: £86.2m) and net investment of £55.0m 
(2015: £115.3m). The Portfolio review on pages 20 
to 33 contains a detailed description of the Group’s 
portfolio of equity and debt investments including 
key developments and movements during the year. 

The Group’s statement of financial position includes 
goodwill of £57.1m (2015: £57.1m) and acquired 
intangible assets of £5.1m (2015: £10.5m). £38.7m 
(2015: £38.7m) of the goodwill and substantially 
all of the acquired intangible asset value arose as 
a result of the Group’s acquisition of Fusion IP in 
2014. The remainder of the goodwill balance arose 
from historical acquisitions of IP Assist Services 
Limited (university partnership business, £16.3m; 
2015: £16.3m) and Top Technology Ventures Limited 
(venture capital fund management business, £2.1m; 
2015: £2.1m). Goodwill is tested at least annually for 
impairment, as described in note 11. The intangible 
assets are separately identifiable assets resulting from 
Fusion IP’s agreements with its partner universities. 

Net Cash (used)/
generated by operating 
activities (excluding 
cash flows from 
deposits)

Net Cash used in 
investing activities

Issue of share capital

Drawdown of debt 
facility

Effect of foreign 
exchange rate changes

Movement during 
period

2016
 £m

(11.4)

2015
 £m

2.3

(55.2)

(114.6)

—

—

0.1

(66.5)

178.8

14.9

0.1

81.5

At 31 December 2016, the Group’s Cash totalled 
£112.3m, a decrease of £66.5m from a total of £178.8m 
at 31 December 2015 predominantly due to net 
investment in the Group’s spin-out companies and 
operating expenses.

Cash used in operations has increased from the 
comparable period in 2015, most significantly due 
to the receipt of £11m of payments under MBS’s 
agreement with Janssen Biotech in 2015 (£3m of 
which had been recognised in debtors as at  
31 December 2014). 

The Group’s net cash used in investing activities 
decreased during 2016, reflecting a reduction in the 
level of investment (2016: £69.7m; 2015: £115.9m) and 
significant realisations in the year, most notably the 
disposal of Tracsis plc for £13.1m bringing total cash 
realisations to £14.7m (2015: £0.6m). As described 
in the Portfolio review on pages 20 to 33, the Group 
allocated a total of £58.8m across 55 portfolio 
companies during the period (2015: £75.9m;  
53 companies) and £10.9m across two multi-sector 

36

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Performance

platform investments (2015: £40m; one multi-sector 
platform investments).

The Group made a £0.1m contribution to IP Venture 
Fund during 2016 (2015: £nil), which made its final 
investment during the year (2015: none). The Group 
received no distributions during the year (2015: 
£0.6m). 

In 2015 the Group secured a £30m, 8-year debt 
facility from the European Investment Bank (“the 
EIB”). The facility is to be disbursed in two tranches, 
with the first tranche of £15m having been drawn 
down in December 2015 and the second tranche is 
anticipated to be drawn in 2017. The facility provides 
IP Group with an additional source of long-term 
capital and represents an evolution in the Group’s 
capital structure to support its future growth and 
development.

It remains the Group’s policy to place cash that is 
surplus to near-term working capital requirements 
on short-term and overnight deposits with financial 
institutions that meet the Group’s treasury policy 
criteria or in low-risk treasury funds rated “A” or 
above. The Group’s treasury policy is described in 
detail in note 2 to the Group financial statements 
alongside details of the credit ratings of the Group’s 
cash and deposit counterparties. 

At 31 December 2016, the Group recognised £9.8m 
of loans (2015: £7.1m) from the Limited Partners of 
IPVFII, a fund raised during 2013 that is consolidated 
by the Group. These loans are repayable only upon 
IPVFII generating sufficient returns to repay the 
Limited Partners. A further £15.0m of non-current 
liabilities are recognised which arise from the Group’s 
use of the EIB debt facility described above.

At 31 December 2016, the Group had a total of 
£1.1m (2015: £1.3m) held in US Dollars to meet the 
short-term working capital requirements of its 
US operations, including capital anticipated to be 
required by new and existing spin-out company 
opportunities.

Taxation
The Group’s business model seeks to deliver 
long-term value to its stakeholders through the 
commercialisation of fundamental research carried 
out at its partner universities. To date, this has 
been largely achieved through the formation of, 
and provision of services and development capital 
to, spin-out companies formed around the output 
of such research. The Group primarily seeks to 
generate capital gains from its holdings in spin-out 

companies over the longer-term but has historically 
made annual net operating losses from its operations 
from a UK tax perspective. Capital gains achieved 
by the Group would ordinarily be taxed upon 
realisation of such holdings, however, since the 
Group’s activities, including its activities in the US, 
are substantially trading in nature, the Directors 
continue to believe that the Group qualifies for 
the Substantial Shareholdings Exemption (“SSE”). 
This exemption provides that gains arising on the 
disposal of qualifying holdings are not chargeable 
to UK corporation tax and, as such, the Group has 
continued not to recognise a provision for deferred 
taxation in respect of uplifts in value on those equity 
holdings that meet the qualifying criteria. Gains 
arising on sales of non-qualifying holdings would 
ordinarily give rise to taxable profits for the Group, to 
the extent that these exceed the Group’s operating 
losses from time to time. The Group’s unrecognised 
deferred tax assets and liabilities are set out in note 9 
to the financial statements. 

In the Autumn Statement 2016, the UK Government 
announced its intention to make certain changes 
to the SSE regime, principally from the Group’s 
perspective, to remove the requirement for the 
investing entity (in this case, IP Group) to be a sole 
trading entity or member of a trading group and 
extending the minimum 10% holding period to any 
12-month period in the six years prior to disposal. 
These changes are anticipated to be substantively 
enacted in the Finance Bill 2017 to apply from 1 April 
2017. The Group welcomed these changes and the 
directors anticipate that they will have a favourable 
impact on the Group, giving greater certainty over 
the exemption of qualifying gains under SSE, and 
increasing the Group’s flexibility over the timing of 
future portfolio company disposals.

The Autumn Statement also included proposals to 
restrict companies’ use of brought forward losses. 
Under the proposed plan, the amount of profit that 
can be mitigated by brought forward losses will be 
restricted to 50% of the amount of profits in excess 
of £5m. The Directors do not currently consider that 
these proposed changes will result in the recognition 
of a deferred tax liability in respect of any unrealised 
gains that do not qualify for SSE, but note that such 
liabilities may arise in the future.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

37

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comRisk management

Managing risk: our framework for 
balancing risk and reward
“A robust and effective risk management framework is essential for 
the Group to achieve its strategic objectives and to ensure that the 
directors are able to manage the business in a sustainable manner, 
which protects its employees, partners, shareholders and other 
stakeholders. Ongoing consideration of, and regular updates to, the 
policies intended to mitigate risk enable the effective balancing of risk 
and reward.”

Governance
Overall responsibility for the risk framework and 
definition of risk appetite rests with the Board, who 
through regular review of risks ensure that risk 
exposure is matched with an ability to achieve the 
Group’s strategic objectives. Risk identification, using 
a structured risk framework, is carried out primarily 
by the management team with non-executive review 
being carried out by the audit and risk committee. 

Risk management process
Ranking of the Group’s risks is carried out 
by combining the economic, operational or 
environmental impact of risks and the likelihood 
that they may occur. Those risks that are considered 
to pose the greatest threat to the Group and score 
the highest are identified as ‘principal risks’. The 
operations of the Group, and the implementation of 
its objectives and strategy, are subject to a number of 
principal risks and uncertainties. Were more than one 
of the risks to occur together, the overall impact on 
the Group may be compounded.

The design and ongoing effectiveness of the 
key controls over the Group’s principal risks are 
documented using an ‘assurance map’, which includes 
an assessment of the net risk impact and likelihood 
post mitigating controls. The key controls over the 
Group’s identified principal risks are reviewed by 
management, the audit and risk committee and the 
Board at least twice a year. However, the Group’s 
risk management programme can only provide 
reasonable, not absolute, assurance that principal 
risks are managed to an acceptable level.

During 2016 we have continued to build on our 
existing risk management framework, enhancing risk 
management and internal control processes. This 
included the creation on a Risk Council in the latter 
part of the year, to support the Executive Committee 
and Board in their risk management responsibilities. 
In addition to our permanent risk management 
activities, our priority for 2017 is to enhance risk 
management within our front line operations, 
supported by a programme of activity including an 
external risk review of the group’s US operations.

KEY

Direct Reporting

Review & Challenge

38

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Risk Management

IP Group risk management framework

FIRST LINE  
OF DEFENCE

SECOND LINE  
OF DEFENCE

Front line ownership of 
risk process, reporting and 
effectiveness

Oversight and challenge by the 
Risk Council, Central Functions 
and Management

THIRD LINE  
OF DEFENCE

Independent  assurance

IP Exec

IP Capital

IP Assist

IP Group Inc.

Board

Executive 
Management

Risk Council

Collated risk 
registers

Front Line Operations 

Central Functions

Biotech

Cleantech

Healthcare

Technology

HR

Finance

IT

Legal & Cosec

Audit & Risk 
Committee

Internal &  
external audit

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

I

G
N
N
R
A
E
L

,

K
C
A
B
D
E
E
F

,

E
G
N
E
L
L
A
H
C

39

I

T
H
G
S
R
E
V
O

,

I

G
N
T
R
O
P
E
R

,

I

S
S
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,

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
 
 
 
 
Risk management CONTINUED

Summary of principal risks and mitigants
A summary of the principal risks affecting the Group and the steps taken to manage these is set out below. Further 
discussion of the Group’s approach to principal risks and uncertainties are given on page 67 of the Corporate 
Governance Report and pages 90 and 91 of the Report of the Audit and Risk Committee, while further disclosure of 
the Group’s financial risks are set out in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements on pages 113 and 115.

RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

 • The Group announced the proposed acquisition 

of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, the UK’s leading 

university spinout focused EIS fund manager. 

The acquisition reinforces IP Group’s access to 

a diversified pool of capital for co-funding the 

earlier stages of the portfolio.

 • The Group hosted investor relations roadshows in 

the UK and US.

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 

investments.

 • Total equity (“net 

assets”).

 • Profit/loss 

attributable to 

equity holders.

 • The Group’s portfolio companies raised 

approximately £230m of capital.

 • The Group maintained board representation on 

more than 80% of companies by number.

 • 2016 saw significant volatility in equity markets, 

particularly around the timing of the Brexit 

referendum.

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 

investments.

 • Purchase of 

equity and debt 

investments.

 • Proceeds from 

the sale of equity 

investments.

1    It may be difficult for the 
Group and its early-stage 
companies to attract capital.

The Group’s operations are reliant on 
capital markets, particularly those in 
the UK. As the Group’s operations, 
and the operations of the majority of 
its portfolio companies, are based in 
the UK, the financial and operational 
performance of the Group and 
particularly the ability of its portfolio 
companies to attract development 
capital is influenced by the general 
economic climate and trading 
conditions in the UK. 

2     The returns and cash 

proceeds from the Group’s 
early-stage companies can  
be very uncertain.

The following risks are typically 
associated with early-stage 
companies:

 • may not be able to secure later 

rounds of funding;

 • may not be able to source or retain 

appropriately skilled staff;

 •

 •

 •

competing technologies may enter 
the market;

technology can be materially 
unproven and may fail; 

IP may be infringed, copied or 
stolen;

 • may be more susceptible to cyber 

crime; and

 • other administrative, taxation or 
compliance issues may lead to 
company failure.

 • The success of those portfolio 

companies which require significant 
funding in the future may be 
influenced by the market’s appetite 
for investment in early stage 
companies, which may not be 
sufficient.

 • Failure of companies within the 

Group’s portfolio may make it more 
difficult for the Group or its spin-
out companies to raise additional 
capital.

 • Portfolio company failure directly 
impacts the Group’s value and 
profitability.

 • At any time, a large proportion of 

the Group’s portfolio value may be 
accounted for by one, or very few, 
companies, which could exacerbate 
the impact of any impairment or 
failure of one or more of these 
companies. Oxford Nanopore is 
an example of such a portfolio 
company that has the potential 
to materially impact the Group’s 
results. 

 • The value of the Group’s in-house 

drug discovery company MBS may 
be significantly impacted by a 
negative clinical trial result.

 • Cash realisations from the Group’s 
portfolio through trade sales and 
IPOs could vary significantly from 
year to year.

 • The Group has significant balance 
sheet and managed funds capital 
to deploy in attractive portfolio 
opportunities.

 • The Group operates a corporate 

finance function which carries out 
fundraising mandates for portfolio 
companies. 

 • The Group maintains close 

relationships with a wide variety of co-
investors that focus on companies at 
differing stages of development.

 • The Group frequently forecasts cash 
requirements of the portfolio and 
ensures all capital allocations are 
compliant with budgetary limits, 
treasury policy guidelines and 
transaction authorisation controls. 

 • The Group’s staff have significant 

experience in sourcing, developing 
and growing early-stage technology 
companies to significant value, 
including use of the Group’s systematic 
opportunity evaluation and business 
building methodologies within 
delegated board authorities. 

 • Members of the Group’s senior team 

often serve as non-executive directors 
or advisers to portfolio companies to 
help identify and remedy critical issues 
promptly.

 • Support on operational, legal and 

company secretarial matters is offered 
to minimise failures due to common 
administrative factors.

 • The Group has spin-out company 
holdings across different sectors 
managed by experienced sector-
specialist teams to reduce the impact 
of a single company failure or sector 
demise.

 • The Group maintains significant cash 

balances and seeks to employ a capital 
efficient process deploying low levels 
of initial capital to enable identification 
and mitigation of potential failures at 
the earliest possible stage. 

KEY

Increase

Decrease

No change

Create

Develop

Deliver

40

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Strategic Report Risk Management

RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

1    It may be difficult for the 

Group and its early-stage 

companies to attract capital.

The Group’s operations are reliant on 

capital markets, particularly those in 

the UK. As the Group’s operations, 

and the operations of the majority of 

its portfolio companies, are based in 

the UK, the financial and operational 

performance of the Group and 

particularly the ability of its portfolio 

companies to attract development 

capital is influenced by the general 

economic climate and trading 

conditions in the UK. 

2     The returns and cash 

proceeds from the Group’s 

early-stage companies can  

be very uncertain.

The following risks are typically 

associated with early-stage 

companies:

 • may not be able to secure later 

rounds of funding;

 • may not be able to source or retain 

appropriately skilled staff;

 •

competing technologies may enter 

the market;

 •

technology can be materially 

unproven and may fail; 

 •

IP may be infringed, copied or 

 • may be more susceptible to cyber 

stolen;

crime; and

 • other administrative, taxation or 

compliance issues may lead to 

company failure.

 • The success of those portfolio 

 • The Group has significant balance 

companies which require significant 

sheet and managed funds capital 

funding in the future may be 

to deploy in attractive portfolio 

influenced by the market’s appetite 

opportunities.

for investment in early stage 

companies, which may not be 

sufficient.

 • Failure of companies within the 

Group’s portfolio may make it more 

difficult for the Group or its spin-

out companies to raise additional 

capital.

 • The Group operates a corporate 

finance function which carries out 

fundraising mandates for portfolio 

companies. 

 • The Group maintains close 

relationships with a wide variety of co-

investors that focus on companies at 

differing stages of development.

 • The Group frequently forecasts cash 

requirements of the portfolio and 

ensures all capital allocations are 

compliant with budgetary limits, 

treasury policy guidelines and 

transaction authorisation controls. 

 • Portfolio company failure directly 

 • The Group’s staff have significant 

impacts the Group’s value and 

profitability.

 • At any time, a large proportion of 

the Group’s portfolio value may be 

accounted for by one, or very few, 

companies, which could exacerbate 

the impact of any impairment or 

failure of one or more of these 

companies. Oxford Nanopore is 

an example of such a portfolio 

company that has the potential 

to materially impact the Group’s 

results. 

experience in sourcing, developing 

and growing early-stage technology 

companies to significant value, 

including use of the Group’s systematic 

opportunity evaluation and business 

building methodologies within 

delegated board authorities. 

 • Members of the Group’s senior team 

often serve as non-executive directors 

or advisers to portfolio companies to 

help identify and remedy critical issues 

promptly.

 • Support on operational, legal and 

 • The value of the Group’s in-house 

company secretarial matters is offered 

drug discovery company MBS may 

to minimise failures due to common 

be significantly impacted by a 

negative clinical trial result.

 • Cash realisations from the Group’s 

portfolio through trade sales and 

IPOs could vary significantly from 

year to year.

administrative factors.

 • The Group has spin-out company 

holdings across different sectors 

managed by experienced sector-

specialist teams to reduce the impact 

of a single company failure or sector 

demise.

 • The Group maintains significant cash 

balances and seeks to employ a capital 

efficient process deploying low levels 

of initial capital to enable identification 

and mitigation of potential failures at 

the earliest possible stage. 

 • The Group announced the proposed acquisition 

of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, the UK’s leading 
university spinout focused EIS fund manager. 
The acquisition reinforces IP Group’s access to 
a diversified pool of capital for co-funding the 
earlier stages of the portfolio.

 • The Group hosted investor relations roadshows in 

the UK and US.

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 
investments.

 • Total equity (“net 

assets”).
 • Profit/loss 

attributable to 
equity holders.

 • The Group’s portfolio companies raised 

approximately £230m of capital.

 • The Group maintained board representation on 

more than 80% of companies by number.

 • 2016 saw significant volatility in equity markets, 
particularly around the timing of the Brexit 
referendum.

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 
investments.
 • Purchase of 

equity and debt 
investments.
 • Proceeds from 

the sale of equity 
investments.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

41

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
Risk management CONTINUED

RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

3    Universities or other 
research-intensive 
institutions may terminate 
their partnerships or other 
collaborative relationships 
with the Group.

The Group’s business, results of 
operations and prospects are at least 
partially dependent on competitive 
advantage gained from access to 
leading scientific research through 
partnerships and other collaborative 
arrangements with research-intensive 
institutions and commercial partners 
such as Oxford Sciences Innovation 
plc, Technikos LLP and Cambridge 
Innovation Capital. The Group may 
be unable to recreate these elements 
of its competitive advantage in other 
geographies in which it may seek to 
operate (such as the US). 

4     The Group may lose key 

personnel or fail to attract 
and integrate new personnel.

The industry in which the Group 
operates is a specialised area and 
the Group requires highly qualified 
and experienced employees. There 
is a risk that the Group’s employees 
could be approached and solicited 
by competitors or other technology 
based companies and organisations, 
or could otherwise choose to leave the 
Group. Given the relatively small size 
of the Group, its operations are reliant 
on a small number of key individuals. 
Scaling the team, particularly into 
foreign jurisdictions such as the US, 
presents an additional potential risk.

5     Macroeconomic conditions 
may negatively impact the 
Group’s ability to achieve its 
strategic objectives. 

Adverse macroeconomic conditions 
could reduce the opportunity to 
deploy capital into opportunities or 
may limit the ability of such portfolio 
companies to raise third party funds, 
develop profitable businesses or 
achieve increases in value or exits.

Political uncertainty, including impacts 
from Brexit or similar scenarios, could 
have a number of potential impacts, 
including changes to the labour 
market available to the Group for 
recruitment or regulatory environment 
in which the Group operates.

 • Termination or non-renewal of 

arrangements through failure to 
perform obligations may result in 
the loss of exclusive rights. 
 • The loss of exclusive rights may 

limit the Group’s ability to secure 
attractive IP opportunities to 
commercialise. 

 • This could potentially have a 

material adverse effect on the 
Group’s long-term business, results 
of operations, performance and 
prospects. 

 • With several new entrants to 

our market, this may reduce our 
opportunities to create new spin-
out businesses.

 • Dedicated New Business & 

Partnerships team to service existing 
partnerships and source new 
opportunities.

 • The Group continues to consider 

and, where appropriate, enter into 
new and innovative partnerships 
and collaborations with research 
institutions.

 • The Group has been able to source 

opportunities through non-exclusive 
relationships and other sources. 
 • Members of the Group’s senior team 
work closely with partner institutions 
to ensure that each commercial 
relationship is mutually beneficial and 
productive.

 • The Group’s track record in IP 

commercialisation may make the 
Group a partner of choice for other 
institutions, acting as a barrier to entry 
to competitors.

 • Loss of key executives and 

 • Senior team succession plans are in 

employees of the Group or an 
inability to attract, retain and 
integrate appropriately skilled 
and experienced staff could have 
an adverse effect on the Group’s 
competitive advantage, business, 
financial condition, operational 
results and/or future prospects.

place and updated regularly.

 • The Group’s corporate culture and 
values are well-articulated and 
consistently promoted.

 • The Group carries out regular market 
comparisons for staff and executive 
remuneration and seeks to offer a 
balanced incentive package comprising 
a mix of salary, benefits, performance-
based long-term incentives and 
benefits such as flexible working and 
salary sacrifice arrangements.

 • The Group encourages staff 

development and inclusion through 
coaching and mentoring, and carries 
out regular objective setting and 
appraisal.

 • The UK’s recession has had (and 

 • Management team receives regular 

capital market and economic updates 
from the Group’s capital markets team 
and its brokers.

 • Six-monthly budget and capital 

allocation process and monitoring 
against agreed budget.

 • Regular oversight of upcoming capital 

requirements of portfolio from both the 
Group and third parties.

may continue to have) an adverse 
effect on trading conditions and 
availability of capital in the UK, 
particularly for smaller businesses.

 • The success of those portfolio 
companies which require 
significant external funding may 
be influenced by the market’s 
appetite for investment in early 
stage companies, which may not be 
sufficient.

 • A significant proportion of the 

Group’s portfolio value is held in 
companies quoted on the AIM 
market and decreases in values to 
this market could result in a material 
fair value impact to the portfolio as 
a whole. 

42

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

 • Completed agreements with two additional US 

university partners.

 • The Group announced the proposed acquisition 

of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd. Parkwalk’s investment 

vehicles include the University of Cambridge 

Enterprise Funds, the University of Oxford 

Innovation Funds and the University of Bristol 

Enterprise Funds. The Directors believe that 

Parkwalk’s strong links to university partners will 

be beneficial to the Group.

 • Completed seed investments with both Oxford 

Sciences Innovation and Cambridge Innovation 

Capital as co-investors, demonstrating the value 

of our strategic stakes in these partners.

 • The Group continues to promote an open culture 

of communication and provides an inspiring and 

challenging workplace where people are given 

autonomy to do their jobs. We are fully supportive 

of flexible working and have enabled employees 

with technology to work flexibly. The Group also 

continues to dedicate resources to remuneration 

and incentivisation.

 • Staff attrition increased slightly during the year, 

albeit at 4%, it remained at low absolute levels. 

Approximately 45% of staff have been with the 

Company for at least five years.

 • Number of 

new portfolio 

companies.

 • Total equity 

 •

“Net assets”.

 • Number of 

new portfolio 

companies.

 • Macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions 

remain uncertain in the UK, Europe and the rest 

of the world. 

 • Both the Brexit referendum and the US 

presidential election were a source of uncertainty 

in the year, with negotiations around the exit from 

the EU likely to be a source of volatility through 

2017 and 2018. 

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 

investments.

 • Total equity 

 •

“Net assets”.

 • Profit/loss 

attributable to 

equity holders.

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
 
RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

Strategic Report Risk Management

KEY

Increase

Decrease

No change

Create

Develop

Deliver

operations and prospects are at least 

 • This could potentially have a 

3    Universities or other 

research-intensive 

institutions may terminate 

their partnerships or other 

collaborative relationships 

with the Group.

The Group’s business, results of 

partially dependent on competitive 

advantage gained from access to 

leading scientific research through 

partnerships and other collaborative 

arrangements with research-intensive 

institutions and commercial partners 

such as Oxford Sciences Innovation 

plc, Technikos LLP and Cambridge 

Innovation Capital. The Group may 

be unable to recreate these elements 

of its competitive advantage in other 

geographies in which it may seek to 

operate (such as the US). 

4     The Group may lose key 

personnel or fail to attract 

and integrate new personnel.

The industry in which the Group 

operates is a specialised area and 

the Group requires highly qualified 

and experienced employees. There 

is a risk that the Group’s employees 

could be approached and solicited 

by competitors or other technology 

based companies and organisations, 

or could otherwise choose to leave the 

Group. Given the relatively small size 

of the Group, its operations are reliant 

on a small number of key individuals. 

Scaling the team, particularly into 

foreign jurisdictions such as the US, 

presents an additional potential risk.

5     Macroeconomic conditions 

may negatively impact the 

Group’s ability to achieve its 

strategic objectives. 

Adverse macroeconomic conditions 

could reduce the opportunity to 

deploy capital into opportunities or 

may limit the ability of such portfolio 

companies to raise third party funds, 

develop profitable businesses or 

achieve increases in value or exits.

Political uncertainty, including impacts 

from Brexit or similar scenarios, could 

have a number of potential impacts, 

including changes to the labour 

market available to the Group for 

recruitment or regulatory environment 

in which the Group operates.

 • Termination or non-renewal of 

 • Dedicated New Business & 

arrangements through failure to 

perform obligations may result in 

the loss of exclusive rights. 

Partnerships team to service existing 

partnerships and source new 

opportunities.

 • The loss of exclusive rights may 

 • The Group continues to consider 

limit the Group’s ability to secure 

attractive IP opportunities to 

commercialise. 

and, where appropriate, enter into 

new and innovative partnerships 

and collaborations with research 

institutions.

material adverse effect on the 

 • The Group has been able to source 

Group’s long-term business, results 

opportunities through non-exclusive 

of operations, performance and 

relationships and other sources. 

prospects. 

 • With several new entrants to 

our market, this may reduce our 

opportunities to create new spin-

out businesses.

 • Loss of key executives and 

 • Senior team succession plans are in 

employees of the Group or an 

inability to attract, retain and 

integrate appropriately skilled 

and experienced staff could have 

an adverse effect on the Group’s 

competitive advantage, business, 

financial condition, operational 

results and/or future prospects.

 • Members of the Group’s senior team 

work closely with partner institutions 

to ensure that each commercial 

relationship is mutually beneficial and 

productive.

 • The Group’s track record in IP 

commercialisation may make the 

Group a partner of choice for other 

institutions, acting as a barrier to entry 

to competitors.

place and updated regularly.

 • The Group’s corporate culture and 

values are well-articulated and 

consistently promoted.

 • The Group carries out regular market 

comparisons for staff and executive 

remuneration and seeks to offer a 

balanced incentive package comprising 

a mix of salary, benefits, performance-

based long-term incentives and 

benefits such as flexible working and 

salary sacrifice arrangements.

 • The Group encourages staff 

development and inclusion through 

coaching and mentoring, and carries 

out regular objective setting and 

appraisal.

capital market and economic updates 

from the Group’s capital markets team 

and its brokers.

 • Six-monthly budget and capital 

allocation process and monitoring 

against agreed budget.

 • Regular oversight of upcoming capital 

requirements of portfolio from both the 

Group and third parties.

 • The UK’s recession has had (and 

 • Management team receives regular 

may continue to have) an adverse 

effect on trading conditions and 

availability of capital in the UK, 

particularly for smaller businesses.

 • The success of those portfolio 

companies which require 

significant external funding may 

be influenced by the market’s 

appetite for investment in early 

stage companies, which may not be 

sufficient.

 • A significant proportion of the 

Group’s portfolio value is held in 

companies quoted on the AIM 

market and decreases in values to 

this market could result in a material 

fair value impact to the portfolio as 

a whole. 

 • Completed agreements with two additional US 

university partners.

 • The Group announced the proposed acquisition 
of Parkwalk Advisors Ltd. Parkwalk’s investment 
vehicles include the University of Cambridge 
Enterprise Funds, the University of Oxford 
Innovation Funds and the University of Bristol 
Enterprise Funds. The Directors believe that 
Parkwalk’s strong links to university partners will 
be beneficial to the Group.

 • Completed seed investments with both Oxford 
Sciences Innovation and Cambridge Innovation 
Capital as co-investors, demonstrating the value 
of our strategic stakes in these partners.

 • The Group continues to promote an open culture 
of communication and provides an inspiring and 
challenging workplace where people are given 
autonomy to do their jobs. We are fully supportive 
of flexible working and have enabled employees 
with technology to work flexibly. The Group also 
continues to dedicate resources to remuneration 
and incentivisation.

 • Staff attrition increased slightly during the year, 
albeit at 4%, it remained at low absolute levels. 
Approximately 45% of staff have been with the 
Company for at least five years.

 • Number of 

new portfolio 
companies.

 • Total equity 

 •

“Net assets”.

 • Number of 

new portfolio 
companies.

 • Macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions 

remain uncertain in the UK, Europe and the rest 
of the world. 

 • Both the Brexit referendum and the US 

presidential election were a source of uncertainty 
in the year, with negotiations around the exit from 
the EU likely to be a source of volatility through 
2017 and 2018. 

 • Change in fair value 

of equity and debt 
investments.

 • Total equity 

 •

“Net assets”.

 • Profit/loss 

attributable to 
equity holders.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

43

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
 
Risk management CONTINUED

RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

6     There may be changes to, 
impacts from, or failure to 
comply with, legislation, 
government policy and 
regulation.

There may be unforeseen changes in, 
or impacts from, government policy, 
regulation or legislation (including 
taxation legislation). This could include 
changes to funding levels or to the 
terms upon which public monies 
are made available to universities 
and research institutions and the 
ownership of any resulting intellectual 
property.

 • Changes could result in universities 
and researchers no longer being 
able to own, exploit or protect 
intellectual property on attractive 
terms.

 • Changes to tax legislation or the 
nature of the Group’s activities, 
in particular in relation to the 
Substantial Shareholder Exemption, 
may adversely affect the Group’s 
tax position and accordingly its 
value and operations.

 • Regulatory changes or breaches 

could ultimately lead to withdrawal 
of regulatory permissions for 
the Group’s FCA-authorised 
subsidiary resulting in loss of 
fund management contracts, 
reputational damage or fines.
 • A material adverse event could 

occur during an MBS clinical trial.
 • A data security or cyber breach 
could occur or the Group could 
otherwise fail to adhere to data 
protection regulations.

 • University partners are incentivised to 
protect their IP for exploitation as the 
partnership agreements share returns 
between universities, academic 
founders and the Group. 

 • The Group utilises professional 

advisers as appropriate to support 
its monitoring of, and response to 
changes in, tax, insurance or other 
legislation. 

 • The Group has internal policies and 

procedures to ensure its compliance 
with applicable FCA regulations and 
these are subject to external review.
 • MBS utilises an experienced specialist 
advisory panel covering all aspects of 
clinical trial design and delivery.

 • The Group maintains D&O, 

professional indemnity and clinical 
trial insurance policies.

 • The Group reviews its data and 

cyber-security processes with its 
external outsourced IT provider and 
applies the UK Government’s ‘ten 
steps’ framework.

KEY

Increase

Decrease

No change

Create

Develop

Deliver

 • Total equity  

(“net assets”).

 • Proposed changes to UK Substantial Shareholding 

Exemption rules reduce the level of uncertainty 

around the exemption of disposal gains.

 • Ongoing focus on regulatory compliance 

including third party reviews. 

 • UK Government has committed to university 

funding and has emphasised the importance of 

science and innovation.

 • Specialist therapeutics advisory panel continually 

consulted. 

 •

Increased focus on cyber security including 

further development of the Group’s controls using 

the UK Government’s ‘ten steps’ approach and 

review of the Cyber Essentials regime and how 

this applies to the Group.

44

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Strategic Report Risk Management

RISK AND DESCRIPTION

IMPACT

MITIGATION

RISK TREND

DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE YEAR

STRATEGY

KPI

6     There may be changes to, 

impacts from, or failure to 

comply with, legislation, 

government policy and 

regulation.

There may be unforeseen changes in, 

or impacts from, government policy, 

regulation or legislation (including 

taxation legislation). This could include 

changes to funding levels or to the 

terms upon which public monies 

are made available to universities 

and research institutions and the 

ownership of any resulting intellectual 

property.

 • Changes could result in universities 

 • University partners are incentivised to 

and researchers no longer being 

able to own, exploit or protect 

intellectual property on attractive 

terms.

protect their IP for exploitation as the 

partnership agreements share returns 

between universities, academic 

founders and the Group. 

 • Changes to tax legislation or the 

 • The Group utilises professional 

nature of the Group’s activities, 

in particular in relation to the 

Substantial Shareholder Exemption, 

may adversely affect the Group’s 

tax position and accordingly its 

value and operations.

 • Regulatory changes or breaches 

could ultimately lead to withdrawal 

of regulatory permissions for 

the Group’s FCA-authorised 

subsidiary resulting in loss of 

fund management contracts, 

reputational damage or fines.

 • A material adverse event could 

occur during an MBS clinical trial.

 • A data security or cyber breach 

could occur or the Group could 

otherwise fail to adhere to data 

protection regulations.

advisers as appropriate to support 

its monitoring of, and response to 

changes in, tax, insurance or other 

legislation. 

 • The Group has internal policies and 

procedures to ensure its compliance 

with applicable FCA regulations and 

these are subject to external review.

 • MBS utilises an experienced specialist 

advisory panel covering all aspects of 

clinical trial design and delivery.

 • The Group maintains D&O, 

professional indemnity and clinical 

trial insurance policies.

 • The Group reviews its data and 

cyber-security processes with its 

external outsourced IT provider and 

applies the UK Government’s ‘ten 

steps’ framework.

 • Total equity  
(“net assets”).

 • Proposed changes to UK Substantial Shareholding 
Exemption rules reduce the level of uncertainty 
around the exemption of disposal gains.
 • Ongoing focus on regulatory compliance 

including third party reviews. 

 • UK Government has committed to university 

funding and has emphasised the importance of 
science and innovation.

 • Specialist therapeutics advisory panel continually 

 •

consulted. 
Increased focus on cyber security including 
further development of the Group’s controls using 
the UK Government’s ‘ten steps’ approach and 
review of the Cyber Essentials regime and how 
this applies to the Group.

Viability statement 
The Directors have carried out a robust assessment 
of the viability of the Group over a three-year period 
to December 2019, considering its strategy, its current 
financial position and its principal risks. 

The strategy and associated principal risks underpin 
the Group’s three-year financial plan and scenario 
testing, which the Directors review at least annually. 
The three-year plan is built using a bottom up  
model. The three-year plan makes certain 
assumptions about the level of capital deployed into, 
and realisations from, its portfolio of companies, 
the financial performance (and valuation) of the 
underlying portfolio companies, the Group’s utilisation 
of its debt finance facility and ability to raise further 
capital, and the level of the Group’s net overheads. 

To assess the impact of the Group’s principal risks 
on the prospects of the Group, the plan is stress-
tested by modelling several severe but plausible 
downside scenarios as part of the Board’s review of 
the principal risks of the business. These scenarios 
envisage the impact of adverse outcomes in the 
Group’s principal risk areas, primarily through 
reducing the fair value of the Group’s portfolio 
company interests, reducing the amount of capital 
that the Group can raise, lowering the deployment of 
capital and decreasing portfolio company divestment 
proceeds. The scenarios also consider the impact of 
available mitigating actions. 

Based on this assessment, the Directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the Group will continue 
to operate and meets its liabilities, as they fall due, up 
to December 2019.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

45

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
Our business ethics and social responsibility

Our business ethics and social 
responsibility
Our goal is to build a sustainable and viable business. 
The Group therefore seeks to conduct all of its 
operating and business activities in an honest, ethical 
and socially responsible manner and these values 
underpin our business model and strategy. We are 
committed to acting professionally, fairly and with 
integrity in all our business dealings and relationships 
with consideration for the needs of all of our 
stakeholders including university partners, investors, 
suppliers, employees, and the businesses in which the 
Group has holdings.

The Group is committed to ensuring a safe 
environment for employees as well as minimising 
the overall impact on the environment. IP Group 
endeavours to conduct its business in accordance 
with established best practice, to be a responsible 
employer and to adopt values and standards 
designed to help guide staff in their conduct and 
business relationships.

The Group works with a variety of suppliers and seeks 
to ensure that there is diversity in the supply chain, 
working with SMEs as well as larger organisations. 
Where possible, we work with local suppliers 
therefore impacting positively on the communities 
where we operate. The Group is a signatory to the 
Prompt Payment Code.

The Group complies with all laws, regulations and 
rules applicable to its business, such as the Market 
Abuse Regulation and the Bribery Act 2010. We 
take a zero tolerance approach to bribery and 
corruption and have effective systems in place. All 
employees who are involved with the regulated 
business of managing investment transactions 
receive compliance and anti-money laundering 
training, with periodic refresher courses. As a publicly 
traded entity, IP Group actively seeks to engage and 
maintain an open dialogue with both institutional and 
private shareholders through its investor relations 
programme.

The ‘indirect’ impact of our model
IP Group’s day-to-day activities have limited adverse 
social and environmental impact. There can, however, 
be a more significant impact indirectly through the 
nature and operations of the companies that we 
support.

Our portfolio companies, which are primarily focused 
on the healthcare, technology, clean technology 
and biotechnology sectors, are developing solutions 
to some of the world’s most significant social, 
environmental and health challenges. Consequently, 
the Group recognises the importance of ensuring 
that the businesses it establishes and nurtures 
comply with all applicable environmental, ethical 
and social legislation. Our involvement in these 
companies allows greater scope to engage with their 
management teams and offer guidance.

Our support of early-stage businesses also 
demonstrates our alignment with government 
initiatives in science and innovation and contributes 
to employment growth in the communities in which 
our portfolio companies operate. We estimate that 
in excess of 2,000 jobs have been created as a result 
of new businesses created and/or supported by the 
Group.

Community engagement
The Group seeks to have a positive impact on the 
communities in which it operates and one of the ways 
in which it achieves this is through charitable support 
at both a Group level and by staff. To date, the Group 
has aimed to donate up to 1% of the previous year’s 
realised profits to one or more charities which have 
a particular relevance to IP Group’s activities or to 
members of our team. The Group’s chosen charities 
in 2016 were St Gemma’s hospice, the largest hospice 
in Yorkshire, and the Royal Voluntary Service, which 
runs a network of volunteers to support older people 
with initiatives such as the befriending service. A list 
of charities the Group has supported to date can be 
found on the Group’s website: www.ipgroupplc.com.

In 2016, the Group donated a total of £17k to 
charitable causes, with £16k going to the charities 
named above and £1k being donated to other 
charities for employee match funding or discretionary 
donations. Employee initiatives included a lunchtime 
feast, several bake off events and a ‘race the sun’ 
cycle raising a total of £2k in addition to Group 
donations.

Following several years of ad-hoc charity initiatives, 
the Group made a commitment to investigate the 
viability of a 3-year strategic partnership with one 
charity which will allow the Group to make a more 
significant contribution to the work provided by the 
charity selected. The Group’s charity committee is 
currently liaising with several charities on this initiative 
with a decision expected in late April 2017.

46

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business ethics

Employee diversity and  
employment policies
IP Group is an equal opportunities employer. Diversity 
is key to how we work and we believe that great 
ideas can come from anyone. As such, we believe 
in equal opportunity for all people when it comes 
to recruitment, selection and career development. 
For the year ended 31 December 2016, the Group 
employed an average of 70 employees and had five 
non-executive directors. A breakdown of our people 
by gender can be seen in the table below. IP Group 
supports the rights of all people as set out in the UN 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, insofar 
as it is able to, ensures that all transactions the Group 
enters into uphold these principles.

Exceptional people doing exceptional things should 
be well-rewarded for achieving exceptional results. 
While heavily weighted to successful performance 
over the medium to long-term, we consider that 
the Group offers an attractive overall remuneration 
package to all our employees with both short 
and longer-term components. We benchmark 
remuneration and benefits regularly against the 
industry. Our remuneration and benefits package 
focuses on supporting health (through private 
medical and Ride-to-Work) and family (insurance 
and through inclusion of families in some of our 
other benefit options and Childcare Vouchers) 
while also offering opportunities for longer term 
financial security through investment and savings 
opportunities

Total Staff: 76(i)

Board(ii)

Senior Management(i)

All Employees(i)

Male

70%

69%

47%

Female

30%

31%

53%

i. 

ii. 

Excludes non-executive directors

Includes Company Secretary

Talent management
We believe in recruiting exceptional people to do 
exceptional things and we know how important our 
unique culture is to attracting and retaining talent. 
Our values – passionate, principled, pioneering – 
truly describe how it feels to work within IP Group. 
People are given an unusual degree of freedom and 
authority to accomplish the extraordinary things we 
do and we are highly supportive of ‘flexible working’. 
We consider our flexibility to be important in our 
approach to turning ground-breaking science into 
world-changing businesses.

Because we operate in a specialised segment of 
our industry, we recruit talent with a combination 
of rare skills such as scientists with commercial and 
entrepreneurial backgrounds, who can operate with 
equal confidence in both academia and fast-paced 
start-ups while speaking the language of the City. 
Development comes from the experience our people 
gain from working with a significant number of start-
up enterprises and seeing first-hand how they are 
operated. Sharing knowledge and discussing these 
experiences as well as structured training is key to 
leveraging this learning across the Group. To this end, 
we encourage employees to build strong relationships 
with all their colleagues by keeping everyone 
updated regularly and often in person on the Group’s 
objectives and progress.

Health and safety
All our people are responsible for the promotion of, 
and adherence to, health and safety measures in the 
workplace. The Chief Operating Officer has overall 
responsibility for the implementation of the Group’s 
health and safety policies and procedures.

The primary purpose of the Group’s health and 
safety policy is to enable all of the Group’s people  
to go about their everyday business at work  
in the expectation that they can do so safely and 
without risk to their health. During the years ended  
31 December 2016 and 31 December 2015, no 
reportable accidents occurred under UK Health and 
Safety regulations.

Copies of the Group’s policies in relation to equal 
opportunities and diversity, health and safety and 
anti-corruption and bribery can be found on the 
Group’s website: www.ipgroupplc.com.

Environmental policy
While we believe the direct environmental impact 
of IP Group plc and its subsidiary companies is 
relatively small, the Group is committed to ensuring 
the environmental impacts of our business operations 
remain as low as possible. We recognise our 
responsibility to ensure that the business operates 
in an environmentally responsible and sustainable 
manner. Employees are encouraged to reduce their 
impact on the environment by hosting meetings 
via video conference where possible, thereby only 
engaging in business travel when necessary, using 
public transport and by minimising the usage of 
paper by using the recycling facilities provided in our 
offices. While the Board as a whole has primary 

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

47

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comOur business ethics and social responsibility 
CONTINUED

responsibility for environmental issues, it has 
allocated day-to-day responsibility for the review of 
environmental and social issues to the Chief Financial 
Officer, Greg Smith.

In addition, major investment themes for IP Group 
have included, and will continue to include, areas 
which have the potential to develop technologies 
which could result in significant environmental 
benefits. 

Organisation boundary and scope  
of emissions
The following section includes our mandatory 
reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. The reporting 
period is the same as the Group’s financial year. We 
have reported on all of the emission sources required 
under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and 
Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013. These sources 
fall within our consolidated financial statement. An 
operational control approach has been used in order 
to define our organisational boundary. This is the 
basis for determining the Scope 1 and 2 emissions for 
which the Group is responsible.

For avoidance of doubt, this excludes any emissions 
from our investment subsidiary companies. 
Management believe the approach taken best 
captures the emissions for which the Group is directly 
responsible and has control over.

FTSE Russell (the trading name of FTSE International 
Limited and Frank Russell Company) confirms that 
IP Group Plc has been independently assessed 
according to the FTSE4Good criteria, and has 
satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of 
the FTSE4Good Index Series. Created by the global 
index provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index 
Series is designed to measure the performance of 
companies demonstrating strong Environmental, 
Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The 
FTSE4Good indices are used by a wide variety of 
market participants to create and assess responsible 
investment funds and other products.

GHG Reporting
The section below includes our mandatory reporting 
of greenhouse gas emissions. The reporting period is 
the same as the Group’s financial year.

Organisation boundary and scope of 
emissions
We have reported on all of the emission sources 
required under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic 
Report and Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013. These 
sources fall within our consolidated financial statement. 

An operational control approach has been used in 
order to define our organisational boundary. This 
is the basis for determining the Scope 1, 2 and 3 
emissions for which the Group is responsible. 

For avoidance of doubt, this excludes any emissions 
from our investment subsidiary companies. 
Management believe the approach taken best 
captures the emissions for which the Group is directly 
responsible and has control over. 

Methodology
The Group has employed the services of a specialist 
adviser, Verco, to quantify the GHG emissions 
associated with the Group’s operations.

The following methodology was applied by Verco in 
the preparation and presentation of this data:

 •

the Greenhouse Gas Protocol published by 
the World Business Council for Sustainable 
Development and the World Resources Institute 
(the “WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol”); 

 • application of Defra emission factors to the 

Group’s activities to calculate GHG emissions;

 •

 •

implementation of the new scope 2 reporting 
methods – application of location-based and market-
based emission factors for electricity supplies;

inclusion of all the applicable Kyoto gases, 
expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents, or CO2e;

 • presentation of gross emissions as the Group does 

not purchase carbon credits (or equivalents).

Absolute emissions
The total greenhouse emissions from IP Group plc’s 
operations in the financial year 2016 (year ending  
31 December 2016) were: 

Location-based: 
3,180.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e)
Market-based: 
3,130.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e)

The growth in emissions is due to a substantial 
increase in business travel activity, which are classed as 
scope 3. It should be noted that, over the same period, 
there has been a decrease in Scope 1 (refrigerant gas 
losses) and Scope 2 (electricity) emissions.

48

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Strategic Report Our Business ethics

on using the location-based method for Scope 2 
emissions which uses the same emissions factor 
source as in 2015. The main source of this decrease 
is from Scope 2 emissions. This is due to two factors: 
a reduction in the electricity consumption and a 
reduction in the carbon intensity of the electricity 
grid in the United Kingdom.

The 2016 intensity metric using the market-based 
method is 0.04 tCO2e per m2. This method was not 
applicable for 2015.

Intensity ratio
As well as reporting the absolute emissions, the 
Group’s GHG emissions are reported below on the 
metric of tonnes per square metre of occupied office 
space. This is considered the most appropriate metric 
given that the majority of emissions result from the 
operation of the Group’s offices and the day-to-day 
activities of the employees.

Target and baselines
Given the comparatively low GHG impact of the 
Group’s operations, the Group’s objective is to 
maintain or reduce its GHG per square metre of office 
space each year and will report each year whether it 
has been successful in this regard. 

For 2016, the intensity metric has decreased from 
0.27 tCO2e per m2 to 0.09 tCO2e per m2. This is based 

Key figures

GHG emissions
Scope 11

Scope 2 (location-based)2 

Subtotal (location-based)

Scope 33

Total GHG emissions 
(Location-based Scope 2)4 

2016 
Tonnes
CO2e

2015 
Tonnes 
CO2e

2014 
Tonnes 
CO2e

4.7

74.9

79.6

 3,101.0 

 3,180.6 

127.6

97.7

225.3

235.2

460.5

6.9

103.9

110.8

177.6

288.4

2016 
Tonnes
CO2e
per m2

0.01

0.09

0.09

2015 
Tonnes 
CO2e  
per m2

0.15

0.12

0.27

2014 
Tonnes 
CO2e  
per m2

0.01

0.13

0.13

1.  Scope 1 being emissions from the Group’s combustion of fuel and operation of facilities.
2.  Scope 2 being electricity (from location-based calculations), heat, steam and cooling purchased for the Group’s own use.
3. 

 Scope 3 being all indirect emissions (not in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and 
downstream emissions 2016 (59 employees & 860.23 m2 office space)

4.  Emissions calculated using a market-based approach were: Scope 2: 24.6 Tonnes CO2e, Total GHG emissions: 3,130.3 Tonnes CO2e

Waste production
Landfill waste
Recycled waste
Total Waste

2016 
Tonnes

2015 
Tonnes 

2014 
Tonnes 

1.2
2.1
3.3

6.7
2.1
8.8

4.5
1.8
6.3

Board approval
The Strategic Report as set out on pages 6 to 49 has been approved by the Board. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Mike Humphrey
Chairman
6 March 2017

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49

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comDevelop

To develop and support these 
opportunities into a diversified 
portfolio of robust businesses

50

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

Tissue Regenix Group
Making good commercial progress 
with US sales with DermaPure® gaining 
commercial traction within the US 
wound care market.

Our Governance

Overview 
Board of Directors 
Corporate Governance Statement 
Committee Reports 
Directors’ Remuneration Report  
Report of the Audit and  
Risk Committee 
Other Statutory 
Directors’ report 
Statement of Directors’  
Responsibilities 

52
54

69

88

93

95

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51

Board of Directors

Mike Humphrey Non-executive Chairman

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
24 March 2015
Age: 65
Independent: N/A1
Tenure: 5 years 

Term of office
3 years, 3 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
Formerly 40+ years at Croda 
plc including 13 years as CEO

Current external 
appointments2
None
Committee memberships
Nomination (chair) and 
Remuneration

Alan Aubrey Chief Executive Officer
Alan Aubrey Chief Executive Officer

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
20 January 2005
Age: 55
Independent: No
Tenure: 12 years 

Term of office
Permanent, 6 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
Founder of Techtran Group, 
7 years as partner at KPMG, 
FCA 20+ Years

Current external 
appointments2
Non-executive Chairman 
Proactis Holdings plc
Committee memberships
Executive, Disclosure

Mike Townend Chief Investment Officer

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
5 March 2007
Age: 54
Independent: No
Tenure: 10 years

Term of office
Permanent, 6 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
17+ years equity capital 
markets experience at 

Lehman Brothers, Donaldson, 
Lufkin and Jenrette.
Current external 
appointments2
None

Committee memberships
Executive

Greg Smith Chief Financial Officer

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
2 June 2011
Age: 38
Independent: No
Tenure: 5 years 

Term of office
Permanent, 6 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
KPMG background, FCA 10+ 
years

Current external 
appointments2
None
Committee memberships
Executive, Disclosure

David Baynes Chief Operating Officer

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
20 March 2014
Age: 53
Independent: No
Tenure: 3 years 

Current external 
appointments2
None
Committee memberships
Executive

Term of office
Permanent, 6 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
10 years as CEO at Fusion 
IP plc, previous experience 
taking companies from 
start-up to full listing on the 
London Stock Exchange

52

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Overview

Doug Liversidge, CBE Non-executive Director
Doug Liversidge, CBE Non-executive Director

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment:
20 March 2014
Age: 80
Independent: Yes
Tenure: 3 years 

Term of office
3 years, 3 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
10 years as Chairman at 
Fusion IP plc, 20+ years at 
British Steel

Current external 
appointments
None
Committee memberships
Nomination, Audit and 
Remuneration

Jonathan Brooks Non-executive Director

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
31 August 2011
Age: 61
Independent: Yes
Tenure: 5 years 

Term of office
3 years, 3 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
Formerly CFO ARM Holdings 
plc, 20+ years technology 
sector experience, FCMA

Current external 
appointments
None
Committee memberships
Nomination, Audit (chair) 
and Remuneration (chair)

Professor Lynn Gladden, CBE Non-executive Director

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
26 March 2014
Age: 55
Independent: Yes
Tenure: 3 years 
Term of office
3 years, 3 months’ notice

Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
Fellow of the Royal 
Society, Royal Academy of 
Engineering, Institution of 
Chemical Engineers, Royal 
Society of Chemistry and 
Institute of Physics, Shell 
Professor of Chemical 
Engineering

Current external 
appointments
The British Land Company 
PLC
Committee memberships
Nomination, Audit and 
Remuneration

Dr Elaine Sullivan Non-executive Director

Effective date of current 
letter of appointment
30 July 2015
Age: 56
Independent: Yes
Tenure: 1 year

Term of office
3 years, 3 months’ notice
Re-election to Board 
Annually at AGM
Experience 
25+ years pharmaceutical 
industry experience, senior 
management teams of Eli 
Lilly and Astra Zeneca, 
currently CEO of Carrick 
Therapeutics

Current external 
appointments
Supervisory Board of Evotec 
AG
Committee memberships
Nomination, Audit and 
Remuneration

1.  Mr Humphrey was considered by the Board to be independent on appointment.

2.  Excludes appointments to Group portfolio company boards.

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53

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comCorporate Governance Statement

Further development of the Group’s 
corporate governance framework 
against a general backdrop of UK and 
US volatility 
Mike Humphrey Chairman

In light of the growth of the Group’s business and 
operations set against a backdrop of socio-political 
developments affecting world markets in 2016 and 
which are expected to further influence the ways in 
which companies are able to conduct their business 
in the future, the Board has placed an added focus 
on developing a robust corporate governance 
strategy alongside promoting an enhanced culture 
of risk identification, reporting and mitigation. The 
latter being most prominent in the establishment 
of the Group’s new Risk Council which supports 
the Executive Committee and Board in their risk 
management responsibilities. The Board remains 
focused on the execution of the Group’s strategy, 
working with its partners to develop outstanding 
businesses based on unique intellectual property and 
in doing so, it continues to recognise the importance 
of a top-down focus on corporate governance as an 
integral part of all of Group activities. 

The Board is accountable to the Group’s shareholders 
for good governance and this report, together with 
the Reports of the Remuneration, Nomination and 
Audit and Risk Committees of the Board describes 
the Group’s detailed approach to corporate 
governance and further information on the key 
developments in these areas during the year.

The Board looks forward to being able to discuss 
these matters with shareholders at the Group’s 
forthcoming AGM in May 2017 or indeed at any other 
point during the year.

Mike Humphrey 
Chairman

Compliance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code
The Directors are committed to a high standard of 
corporate governance and to compliance with the 
best practice of the UK Corporate Governance Code 
(the “Code”). The version of the Code applicable to 
reporting periods beginning before 17 June 2016 was 
the version issued by the Financial Reporting Council 
in September 2014. The Directors consider that the 
Group has been and continues to be in compliance 
with the provisions set out in the Code. 

Further explanation as to how the provisions set 
out in the Code have been applied by the Group 
is set out in the following statement, the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report, the Audit and Risk Committee 
Report and the Strategic Report.

The Board
Role and responsibilities of the Board 
The Board is responsible to shareholders for the 
overall management of the Group as a whole. Whilst 
seeking to support entrepreneurial behaviour in its 
partner institutions through the identification of 
compelling intellectual property with the potential to 
grow into robust and unique business propositions, 
the Board also seeks to provide entrepreneurial 
leadership within a framework of controls for 
assessing and managing risk; defining, challenging 
and interrogating the Group’s strategic aims and 
direction.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Overview

The Board recognises that in doing so it is necessary 
to support the maintenance and evolution of a 
policy and decision-making framework in which such 
strategic aims are implemented; ensuring that the 
necessary financial and human resources are in place 
to meet those aims; monitoring performance against 
key financial and non-financial indicators; succession 
planning; overseeing the system of risk management; 
setting values and standards in governance matters; 
monitoring policies and performance on corporate 
social responsibility and helping to shape and embed 
the Group’s corporate culture and values. 

The Directors recognise that the long term nature 
of the business of the Group in evolving great ideas 
into world changing businesses presents novel and 
unique challenges from both an operational and 
strategic standpoint. In supporting the evolution of 
novel technologies into outstanding intellectual based 
companies the Board acknowledges the key roles 
of Group functions in the fields of executive search, 
capital raising, company secretarial and legal support 
alongside the delivery of in-house mentoring and 
development of portfolio company management 
teams. The Directors believe that the Group’s 
approach to supporting the portfolio companies it 
develops in this way is unique and serves not only 
to build sustainable businesses with longevity, but 
also to provide attractive returns for stakeholders by 
creating value over the longer term. 

The robustness of the Group’s portfolio, supported 
in this way, has been borne out over the course of 
the year in review. The impact of Brexit and other 
political transitions has been a volatile backdrop to 
what has proven to be a year of great commercial 
success for the Group’s portfolio, as evidenced by key 
commercial and corporate milestones being achieved 
across the portfolio in all Group sectors.

The Directors are responsible for promoting 
the long-term success of the Group, taking into 
account the interests of shareholders and other 
key stakeholders including employees, suppliers, 
customers, universities and other partners, the 
community and the environment; for ensuring that 
obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders 
are understood and met; and in maintaining a 
satisfactory dialogue with shareholders. All Directors 
are equally accountable to the Group’s shareholders 
for the proper stewardship of its affairs and the 
long-term success of the Group. The responsibility 
of the Directors is collective, taking into account 
their respective roles as Executive Directors and 
Non-executive Directors. The Executive Directors 
are directly responsible for running the business 
operations, and developing and implementing 
strategy, and the Non-executive Directors are 
responsible for constructively challenging and 
contributing to proposals on strategy, scrutinising 
the performance of management, determining levels 
of remuneration and for succession planning for the 
Executive Directors. The Non-executive Directors 
must also satisfy themselves on the integrity of 
financial information and that financial controls 
and systems of risk management are robust and 
comprehensive. Further details in relation to the 
Group’s approach to the management of its business 
risks, and the establishment, function and ongoing 
roles and responsibilities of the newly created Risk 
Council are set out on pages 38 to 45 and on pages 
88 to 92.

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55

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comCorporate Governance Statement CONTINUED

Strategy
The Board reviews the strategy of the Group and 
any issues arising from it on a regular basis and 
exercises control over the performance of the Group 
by agreeing budgetary targets and monitoring 
performance against those targets. Any decisions 
made by the Board on policies and strategy to be 
adopted by the Group, or changes to current policies 
and strategy, are made following presentations by the 
Executive Directors and a detailed process of review, 
discussion and constructive challenge by the Board 
as a whole. Once made, the Executive Directors are 
fully empowered to implement those decisions.

Schedule of Matters
Except for a formal schedule of matters which are 
reserved for decision and approval by the Board, the 
Board has delegated the day-to-day management of 
the Group’s operations to the Executive Committee. 
The composition of the Group’s Executive Committee 
is more particularly set out below as well as on 
the Group’s website at www.ipgroupplc.com. The 
schedule of matters reserved for Board decision 
and approval are those significant to the Group as a 
whole due to their strategic, financial or reputational 
implications. The current schedule was adopted by 
the Board in August 2014 and reviewed by the Board 
in 2015. It is the intention of the Board that this be 
reviewed again in 2017 in order to ensure a regular 
refreshing of Board practices and procedures. This 
schedule of matters reserved for the Board includes, 
without limitation, those matters more particularly 
set out in the box in the table on page 57 and the 
full schedule can be found within the Corporate 
Governance section of the Group’s website at  
www.ipgroupplc.com. 

BOARD

Chairman

Senior 
Independent 
Director

NED

NED

NED

CEO

CIO

COO

CFO

Company 
Secretary

EXECUTIVE 
COMMITTEE

Director of Strategy 
and IP Impact

Director of New 
Business and 
Partnerships

Head of Biotech

Committees and Oversight
In addition to the Executive Committee, the Board 
delegates specific responsibilities to certain additional 
committees that assist the Board in carrying out its 
functions and to ensure independent oversight of 
internal control and risk management. 

The three principal Board Committees (Audit 
and Risk, Remuneration and Nomination) play an 
essential role in supporting the Board in fulfilling 
its responsibilities and ensuring that the highest 
standards of corporate governance are maintained 
throughout the Group. Each Committee has its own 
terms of reference which set out the specific matters 
for which delegated authority has been given by the 
Board. 

The current terms of reference for the Audit and Risk 
Committee, which were updated in December 2015, 
are fully compliant with the provisions of the Code 
and reflect best practice. The terms of reference 
were reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee 
throughout the year and no amendments were 
considered necessary. 

A review of the terms of reference of each of 
the Remuneration Committee and Nomination 
Committee during 2016 concluded that, whilst 
compliant with the provisions of the Code, certain 
amendments were desirable to reflect current best 
and market practice and the actual workings of 
the relevant Committee. The terms of reference 
for the Remuneration Committee and Nomination 
Committee were updated, recommended for approval 
and adopted by the Board in February 2016 and May 
2016 respectively.

Each Committee will continue to review its own terms 
of reference at least annually and update these where 
necessary. All of the current Committee terms of 
reference are available on request from the Company 
Secretary or within the Corporate Governance section 
of the Group’s website at www.ipgroupplc.com. 

56

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Matters Reserved 
for the Board

Our Governance Overview

Available from 
the Company 
Secretary or on 
our corporate 
website

www.ipgroupplc.
com 

 • Approval of the Annual Report and accounts and half-year 
results statement, accounting policies and procedures or 
any matter having a material impact on future financial 
performance of the Group.

 • Strategic acquisitions or disposals by the Group.

 • Major portfolio capital allocation decisions, being those in 
excess of £5m per investment or 10% of the Group’s cash, 
whichever is the lower.

 • Entry by the Group into strategic partnerships and 
collaborations with universities and other research 
institutions.

 • Major disposals from the Group’s portfolio.

 • Approval and monitoring of the Group’s strategic aims and 

objectives. 

 • Approval of the annual budget and any material changes to it.

 • Considering and, where appropriate, approving Directors’ 

conflicts of interest where permitted by the Group’s Articles 
of Association.

 • Approving appointments to the Board and, subject to 

shareholder approval, determining and approving policies 
relating to Directors’ remuneration and any changes in 
relation to the same.

 • Approval of terms of reference and membership of Board 

committees.

 • Approval, subject to shareholder approval, of the 

appointment and remuneration of the external auditors.

 • Approval of all circulars, prospectuses and other documents 
issued to shareholders governed by the FCA’s Listing Rules, 
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules or the City Code 
on Takeovers and Mergers.

 • Changes to the Group’s capital structure, the issue of any 

securities and material borrowing of the Group. 

 • The division of responsibility between the Chairman and the 

Chief Executive Officer.

 • The introduction of new share incentive plans or major 

changes to existing plans.

 • Material borrowings by the Group.

 • Litigation.

Board 
Committees

Executive 
Committee

The terms of reference of each Committee establish its 
responsibilities and are available from the Company Secretary 
and on the Group’s corporate website: www.ipgroupplc.com.

Day-to-day decisions are delegated to the Executive Committee, 
which operates under agreed terms of reference. These are 
available from the Company Secretary.

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57

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comCorporate Governance Statement CONTINUED

In 2016, a Disclosure Committee was established 
to assist the Group to make timely and accurate 
disclosure of all information that is required to 
be disclosed to meet its legal and regulatory 
obligations and requirements arising from its listing 
on the London Stock Exchange. It also enables to 
Group to meet its obligations under the Market 
Abuse Regulations and takes responsibility for the 
assessment and control of inside information.

Board size and composition
As at 31 December 2016, there were nine Directors 
on the Board: The Chairman, four Executive Directors 
and four Non-executive Directors. The biographies of 
all Directors are provided on pages 52 and 53. During 
the year, there were no changes to the Board nor the 
composition of its Committees.

In accordance with the Code, all Directors will submit 
themselves for annual re-election by shareholders at 
the Annual General Meeting on 10 May 2017. 

The Board unanimously recommends to shareholders 
the reappointment of all Directors retiring at the 
meeting and offering themselves for re-election, 
on the basis that the annual Board evaluation 
demonstrated that they are all effective directors of 
the Company and continue to display the appropriate 
level of commitment in their respective roles. New 
directors may be appointed by the Board from 
time to time but the appointee is always subject to 
election by shareholders at the first Annual General 
Meeting following their appointment. In addition, 
it remains the Board’s policy that all Directors 
be subject to re-election at each Annual General 
Meeting. 

An extract of the Group’s Policy relating to the 
terms of appointment and the remuneration of both 
Executive Directors and Non-executive Directors is 
detailed in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on 
pages 72 to 75. 

Diversity
The Board is committed to a culture that attracts 
and retains talented people to deliver outstanding 
performance and further enhance the success of the 
Group. In that culture, diversity across a range of 
criteria is valued. The Board recognises that diversity, 
in all its aspects, is key for introducing different 
perspectives into board debate and decision making. 
A genuinely diverse board comprises individuals with 
a range of personal attributes, perspectives, skills, 
knowledge, experiences and backgrounds, as well 
as representing differences in nationality, race and 
gender.

The Board’s policy is to make appointments to the 
Board based upon merit against objective criteria. In 
addition, the Board agrees that diversity (including 
gender, ethnic and cultural diversity) remains a key 
aspect in creating an optimal board in terms of 
balance and composition. 

In relation to gender diversity, the Nomination 
Committee gave further consideration throughout 
the year as to whether to set a target in relation to 
the number of women on the Board and in particular 
with reference to the Women on Boards Report by 
Lord Davies issued in March 2015 and the Hampton-
Alexander Review issued in November 2016. Whilst 
the Group endorses Lord Davies’ recommendations, 
it did not consider it appropriate nor in its best 
interests to set either Board or Group-wide targets 
at this stage and prefers instead to continue to 
consider all aspects of diversity (including, but 
not limited to gender) when assessing the overall 
Board composition and in making further new 
appointments. Notwithstanding that it does not have 
a fixed target in relation to the number of women 
on the Board, the Company does currently have two 
female directors on its Board and will aim to  
maintain female representation on the Board at least 
at this current level. In addition, the terms of reference 
of the Nomination Committee include a requirement 
for the Nomination Committee to consider diversity 
including but not limited to gender, nationality and 
race in evaluating the composition of the Board 
and in identifying suitable candidates for Board 
appointments. 

In relation to ethnic diversity, the Nomination 
Committee has reviewed the Parker  
Review Committee Report on the ethnic diversity of  
boards issued in November 2016 and is aware of the 
recommendation that each FTSE 250 board should 
have a ‘director of colour’ by 2024. Similar to the 
approach adopted by the Committee with respect to 

58

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Overview

gender diversity, the Committee does not consider 
it appropriate to set Board or Group-wide targets at 
this stage with respect to ethnic diversity. 

The Group will continue to consider all aspects of 
diversity when making further appointments. When 
Board vacancies arise, the Group’s Nomination 
Committee will require the Group’s in-house 
executive search function and/or external search 
consultants (as appropriate) to identify and present 
qualified people of a range of diverse backgrounds, 
colour, gender and nationality to be considered for 
appointment. The Group’s commitment to diversity at 
the senior management level is also very strong and 
it actively works to increase the number of women, 
ethnic and other cultural diversities in leadership 
positions within the Group. A breakdown of employee 
diversity showing the number of persons who were 
Directors of the Company and senior managers at the 
date of this report can be found on page 47. 

Non-executive Directors
The Non-executive Directors provide a wide range of 
unique skills and experience to the Group. By virtue 
of such a diverse mix of skills and experience, the 
Non-executive Directors are and continue to be well 
placed to constructively challenge and scrutinise the 
performance of executive management at both Board 
and Committee meetings. 

The Code sets out the circumstances that should be 
relevant to the Board in determining whether each 
Non-executive Director is independent. The Board 
considers Non-executive Director independence 
on an annual basis as part of each Non-executive 
Director’s performance evaluation. Having undertaken 
this review, and with due regard to provision B.1.1 of 
the Code, the Board has concluded this year that all 
of the Non-executive Directors are considered by 
the Board to be independent of management and 
free of any relationship or circumstance which could 
materially influence or interfere with, or affect, or 
appear to affect, the exercise of their independent 
judgement.

Since 2009, the Board’s policy has been to prohibit 
personal investments by the Non-executive Directors 
in any of the Group’s portfolio companies, whether 
new or existing. This policy remains unchanged and 
accordingly, none of the Non-executive Directors 
presenting themselves for election or re-election at 
the Annual General Meeting in 2017 have holdings in 
any of the Group’s portfolio companies.

Non-executive Directors are required to obtain the 
formal written approval of the Chairman before 
taking on any further directorial appointments and 
the Chairman requires the approval of the Board 
before adding to his commitments. In all cases, 
the Non-executive Directors must ensure that their 
external appointments do not involve excessive time 
commitments or cause a conflict of interest. 

The roles of Chairman and Chief 
Executive Officer
Mike Humphrey is the Group’s Chairman. The division 
of responsibilities between the Chairman and the 
Chief Executive Officer is clearly established, set out 
in writing and agreed by the Board. The Chairman 
is responsible for the leadership and conduct of 
the Board, the conduct of the Group’s affairs and 
strategy and for ensuring effective communication 
with shareholders. The Chairman facilitates the full 
and effective contribution of Non-executive Directors 
at Board and Committee meetings, ensures that they 
are kept well informed and fosters a constructive 
relationship between the Executive Directors and 
Non-executive Directors. The Chairman also ensures 
that the membership of the Board is appropriate 
to the needs of the business and that the Board 
Committees carry out their duties, including reporting 
back to the Board following their meetings, either 
orally or in writing, at the next Board meeting 
depending on its proximity to the meeting of the 
relevant committee. 

The role of the Chief Executive Officer is to lead 
the delivery of the strategy and the executive 
management of the Group and its operating 
businesses. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible, 
amongst other things, for the development and 
implementation of strategy and processes which 
enable the Group to meet the requirements of 
shareholders, for delivering the operating plans and 
budgets for the Group’s business sectors, monitoring 
business performance against key performance 
indicators (KPIs) and reporting on these to the Board, 
and for providing the appropriate environment to 
recruit, engage, retain and develop the high quality 
personnel needed to deliver the Group’s strategy. 

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59

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comCorporate Governance Statement CONTINUED

Board meetings, provision of 
information and decisions
The Board meets regularly during the year as well 
as on an ad hoc basis, as required in response to the 
needs of the Group’s business. 

The Board had six scheduled Board meetings in 
2016 with seven Board meetings scheduled for 2017 
to ensure that the meeting schedule is sufficient to 
meet the needs of the business. The requirement 
for additional scheduled meetings shall be kept 
under review by the Company Secretary. In response 
to the findings of the externally conducted Board 
Effectiveness Review in 2015/2016 (the “2015/2016 
Effectiveness Review”) and following feedback from 
the Non-executive Directors, the Heads of the Group’s 
four Sector teams (Healthcare, Biotech, Technology 
and Cleantech) presented to the Board throughout 
the year to allow the Board to review the progress, 
performance and objectives (for the next twelve to 
eighteen months) of each Sector. The Board also 
received presentations from the New Business and 
Partnerships Team, IP Capital, IP Exec and the US 
team in response to feedback from the Non-executive 
Directors for additional exposure to these operational 
teams. Further, this method of interaction assists 
the Board in gaining a deeper understanding of the 
breadth, stage of development and diversity of the 
Group’s portfolio. 

The majority of Board meetings are held at the 
Group’s offices in London. The Board also aims to 
have at least one of its scheduled meetings, or its 
annual strategy day(s), at either the Company’s 
offices in Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield, Cardiff or 
Newcastle or at the location of one of the Group’s 
partner universities in order to encourage further 
interaction with the Group’s stakeholders. Meetings 
between the Chairman and the Non-executive 
Directors, both with and without the presence of 
the Chief Executive Officer, are also held as the need 
arises. 

Senior Independent Director
Doug Liversidge is the current Senior Independent 
Director. A key responsibility of the Senior 
Independent Director is to be available to 
shareholders in the event that they may feel it 
inappropriate to relay views through the Chairman 
or Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the Senior 
Independent Director serves as an intermediary 
between the rest of the Board and the Chairman, 
where necessary, and takes the lead when the 
Non-executive Directors assess the Chairman’s 
performance and when the appointment of a new 
Chairman is considered (other than where the Senior 
Independent Director himself or herself wishes 
to be considered for the role). Further, the Senior 
Independent Director will lead the Board in their 
deliberations on any matters on which the Chairman 
is conflicted.

Board support
The Company Secretary is responsible to the Board 
for ensuring that Board procedures are followed, 
applicable rules and regulations are complied with 
and that the Board is advised on governance matters 
and relevant regulatory matters. All Directors have 
access to the impartial advice and services of the 
Company Secretary. The Company Secretary acts 
as a key point of contact for the Chairman and has 
a crucial role in the quality of information that flows 
between the Executive Directors and the Non-
executive Directors and the Company Secretary 
is responsible for ensuring agreed actions are 
completed. The Company Secretary supports the 
Chairman on performance evaluation, the induction 
of new directors and the continuing development of 
current directors including ensuring directors receive 
suitable training to enable them to comply with their 
duties and effectively carry out their roles.

There is also an agreed procedure for directors 
to take independent professional advice at the 
Company’s expense. In accordance with the 
Company’s Articles of Association, directors have 
been granted an indemnity issued by the Company 
to the extent permitted by law in respect of liabilities 
incurred as a result of their office. The indemnity 
would not provide any coverage where a director is 
proved to have acted fraudulently or dishonestly. A 
copy of the indemnity is available for inspection as 
required by the Companies Act 2006. The Company 
has also arranged appropriate insurance cover in 
respect of legal action against its directors and 
officers.

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In addition to the six scheduled Board meetings, the 
Board held a two-day strategy meeting in October 
2016 devoted entirely to the consideration and 
development of the Group’s strategic objectives. 
This provided an opportunity for all Directors, and 
particularly the Non-executive Directors, to ensure the 
Group’s strategy is on course; to discuss medium and 
longer term strategic objectives, and the key drivers 
underpinning these; to review the Group’s KPIs; to 
analyse and challenge the Group’s objectives; and to 
review the Group’s risk framework and risk appetite, 
including considering the major risks facing the Group 
and its strategy and how to assess, manage, mitigate 
and/or monitor the same. The Board undertook its 
strategy review in Glasgow, in line with its practice 
of holding off-site strategy meetings annually at a 
location of one of its partner universities in the UK 
or one of its nationwide offices. At that meeting 
the Board welcomed presentations from two Group 
portfolio companies in the Healthcare and Cleantech 
Sectors which evolved from intellectual property 
created at the University of Glasgow, one of the 
Group’s partner universities. 

The schedule of Board and Committee meetings 
each year is, so far as is possible, determined before 
the commencement of that year and all Directors 
or, if appropriate, all Committee members are 
expected to attend each meeting. In following the 
recommendations of the 2015/2016 Effectiveness 
Review the Committee and Board meetings are 
often split over two days to ensure sufficient time is 
allocated for the business of the Committees and the 
Board and that full engagement and attendance is 
possible across all meetings from those in attendance. 
Further, such scheduling allows for more in-depth 
engagement between the Non-executive Directors 
and the Executive Directors and the heads of each 
of the Sectors outside of the formally scheduled 
meetings.

Supplementary meetings of the Board and/or the 
Committees are held as and when necessary in 
response to business needs. In addition, the Board 
(including both Executive and Non-executive 
Directors) met for three formal dinners and the 
Chairman and the Non-executive Directors met 
without the presence of the Executive Directors once 
during the year. 

Not less than five business days prior to each 
scheduled Board meeting, every member of the 
Board receives detailed Board packs, which include 
an agenda based upon the schedule of matters 
reserved for its approval along with appropriate 
reports and briefing papers, save in respect of 
meetings called on short notice or where late papers 
are permitted to be included with the consent of the 
Chairman. If a director is unable to attend a meeting 
due to exceptional circumstances, he or she will 
still receive the supporting papers and will usually 
discuss any matters he or she wishes to raise with the 
Chairman in advance of the meeting. The Company 
Secretary will at all times facilitate access to Board 
meetings by electronic means (videoconference, 
telephone conference or other equivalent methods) 
to ensure maximum attendance at Board meetings 
throughout the year for all Executive and Non-
executive Directors. 

The Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial 
Officer, Company Secretary and Heads of each of 
the four Sectors work together to ensure that the 
Directors receive relevant information to enable them 
to discharge their duties and that such information is 
accurate, timely and clear. This information includes 
monthly management accounts containing an 
analysis of performance against budget and other 
forecasts, as well as monthly reports from each of 
the Heads of each of the four Sectors. Additional 
information is provided as appropriate or if requested. 
At each meeting, the Board receives information, 
reports and presentations from the Chief Executive 
Officer, the other Executive Directors and, by 
invitation, other members of senior management or 
the Group’s Sector Teams as required. This ensures 
that all Directors are aware of, and are in a position 
to monitor effectively, the overall performance of 
the Group, its development and implementation of 
strategy, and its management of risk. 

Any matter requiring a decision by the Board is 
supported by a paper analysing the relevant aspects 
of the proposal including costs, benefits, potential 
risks involved and proposed executive management 
action and recommendation.

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Board and committee attendance
The following table shows the attendance of Directors at meetings of the Board, Audit and Risk, Remuneration 
and Nomination Committees which they were eligible to attend during the year:

Scheduled  
Board Meetings

Audit  
Committee

Remuneration 
Committee

Nomination
Committee

Mike Humphrey

Alan Aubrey

Mike Townend1

Greg Smith

David Baynes1

Jonathan Brooks

Doug Liversidge

Prof. Lynn Gladden

Dr Elaine Sullivan 

1. 

Including one attendance by telephone.

KEY

 Attended

 Did not attend

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Our Governance Overview

Directors’ conflicts of interest 
Each director has a statutory duty under the 
Companies Act 2006 (the “CA 2006”) to avoid a 
situation in which he or she has, or can have, a direct 
or indirect interest that conflicts or may potentially 
conflict with the interests of the Company. This duty 
is in addition to the continuing duty that a director 
owes to the Company to disclose to the Board any 
transaction or arrangement under consideration by 
the Company in which he or she is interested. The 
Company’s Articles of Association permit the Board 
to authorise conflicts or potential conflicts of interest. 

more within the Group’s top ten holdings (by value), 
which will include (as a minimum) meeting with such 
companies’ management and a presentation from 
them on their businesses. 

The content of the induction process is regularly re-
evaluated by the Board to ensure it remains tailored 
to the needs of the business of the Group and the 
specific profile of any incoming candidate. Following 
the completion of an induction process for a new 
director, the Company Secretary will seek feedback 
from the relevant incoming director to assist with this 
refreshing of induction processes. 

In addition, the Company facilitates sessions as 
appropriate with the Group’s advisers, in particular 
its sponsor Numis Securities Limited, as well as 
with appropriate external governance specialists, 
to ensure that any new directors are fully aware of 
and understand their responsibilities and obligations 
as a director of a FTSE 250 company and of the 
governance framework within which they must 
operate, including most recently, presentations on the 
impact of the Market Abuse Regulations introduced 
in July 2016 and directors’ duties. 

In order to ensure that directors continue to further 
their understanding of the issues facing the Group, 
the Chairman and Non-executive Directors are 
encouraged to continue to visit all of the Group’s 
offices, its portfolio companies and its partner 
universities. Throughout 2017, it is anticipated that 
at least one of the Group’s Board meetings or its 
strategy day(s) will be held off-site to further this 
objective. As detailed above, the Board is also 
exposed to the early-stage opportunities in which 
the Group has invested through presentations at 
Board meetings by relevant members of the Group’s 
staff and Sector teams. In 2017 it is intended that 
further presentations will be provided on a rolling 
basis and incorporated into the Board agenda in 
order to continue to update the Board on progress, 
to enhance the awareness of the Board as to how the 
Group operates on a day-to-day basis and explain 
how such functions assist in the execution of the 
Group’s core strategy of systematically helping create, 
build and support outstanding intellectual property-
based businesses.

The Board has established procedures for managing 
and, where appropriate, authorising any such conflicts 
or potential conflicts of interest. It is a recurring 
agenda item at all Board meetings and this gives the 
directors the opportunity to raise at the beginning of 
every Board meeting any actual or potential conflict 
of interests that they may have on the matters to be 
discussed, or to update the Board on any change to a 
previous conflict of interest already declared. 

In deciding whether to authorise any conflict, the 
directors must have regard to their general duties 
under the CA 2006 and their overriding obligation to 
act in a way they consider, in good faith, will be most 
likely to promote the Company’s success. In addition, 
the directors are able to impose limits or conditions 
when giving authorisation to a conflict or potential 
conflict of interest if they think this is appropriate. The 
authorisation of any conflict matter, and the terms 
of any authorisation, may be reviewed by the Board 
at any time. The Board believes that the procedures 
established to deal with conflicts of interest are 
operating effectively.

Induction, awareness  
and development
A comprehensive induction process is in place 
for new directors. The programme is tailored to 
the needs of each individual director and agreed 
with him or her so that he or she can gain a better 
understanding of the Group and its businesses. 
This process includes an overview of the Group and 
its businesses, structure, functions and strategic 
aims; training on key legal matters relevant to the 
Group and its policies (such as matters relevant 
to Anti-Bribery and Whistleblowing policies and 
procedures), site visits to the Group’s head office in 
London and to one or more of its nationwide offices 
in Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield, Cardiff and Newcastle, 
and site visits to a number of the Group’s portfolio 
companies, including, where possible, at least one or 

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As a further aspect of their ongoing development, 
each director also receives feedback on his or her 
performance following the Board’s performance 
evaluation in each year and access to relevant training 
and development opportunities, including those 
relevant to the Non-executive Directors’ membership 
on the Board’s Committees, is facilitated through 
the Company Secretary. Details relevant to the 
assessment of the Board’s performance are set out at 
page 64.

Board effectiveness and 
performance evaluation
In line with best practice under the Code a 
performance evaluation of the Board, its Committees 
and individual directors is conducted annually to 
ensure that Board performance continues to be 
effective, that each of the directors demonstrates 
commitment to his or her respective role and 
has sufficient time to meet their commitment to 
the Group. Further, the Code requires FTSE 350 
companies to have an externally facilitated evaluation 
at least every three years. 

In line with the provisions of the Code the Group 
undertook an externally facilitated process of review 
in 2016 whereby the Group appointed Deloitte LLP 
to externally facilitate the evaluation during January/
February 2016. Following the 2015/2016 Effectiveness 
Review, and whilst not strictly required by the Code, 
the Board felt that it would be in the best interests 
of the Group to again appoint Deloitte LLP to assist 
the Company Secretary with the facilitation of the 
effectiveness review of the Board on a limited scope 
basis (the “2016/2017 Effectiveness Review”). Deloitte 
LLP has no connection to the Group other than the 
provision of ad-hoc advice to the Remuneration 
Committee and the undertaking of prior Board 
evaluation activities. In light of the same the Board 
was satisfied that Deloitte LLP was sufficiently 
independent to be able to facilitate the 2015/2016 
Effectiveness Review and assist with the more limited 
scope of the 2016/2017 Effectiveness Review. 

This limited scope of engagement with Deloitte LLP 
for the 2016/2017 Effectiveness Review comprised:

 • The distribution of an on-line internal survey for 

the purposes of assessing Board and Committee 
effectiveness; and

 • The completion of an analysis of the online survey 
data and collation of those results, reporting to the 
Company Secretary on the top-line findings. 

The anonymity of all respondents was ensured 
throughout the process in order to encourage an 
open and frank exchange of views. The results were 
analysed by Deloitte and a short form summary 
of the findings was prepared by Deloitte and 
shared with the Board by the Company Secretary 
in February 2016. Overall it was concluded that 
the Board continues to work effectively, with 
demonstrable improvements being identified from 
the implementation of the findings of the 2015/2016 
Effectiveness Review. 

Director performance  
assessment and review
In addition to the 2016/2017 Effectiveness Review, 
the Non-executive Directors, led by the Senior 
Independent Director, appraised the Chairman’s 
performance following which the Senior Independent 
Director provided feedback to the Chairman. 

Further, the performance of each of the Non-
executive Directors on the Board is reviewed by the 
Chairman with support from the Company Secretary, 
the performance of the Chief Executive Officer 
is reviewed by the Chairman and the operational 
performance of the other Executive Directors is 
reviewed by the Chief Executive Officer as part 
of the annual appraisal process. In addition to the 
aforementioned annual reviews, the performance 
of the Executive Directors is reviewed by the Board 
on an ongoing basis, as deemed necessary, in the 
absence of the Executive Director under review, in 
order to avoid a conflict of interest.

Director rotation and independence
Following the outcome of the 2015/2016 
Effectiveness Review, the Nomination Committee 
and the Company Secretary have agreed a 
standardised rotation schedule relevant to each 
of its Non-executive Directors reflecting that each 
Non-executive Director’s appointment (including 
that of the Chairman) shall be for a three year term 
pursuant to the terms of each relevant letter of 
appointment, subject to renewal for subsequent three 
year term(s), and the term permitted for each Non-
executive Director (excluding the Chairman) shall be a 
maximum of three rolling three year terms in order to 
maintain his or her independence from a governance 
perspective in accordance with the Code.

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Once a Non-executive Director’s appointment (or 
re-appointment) has been confirmed for a further 
three years (approved by the Board following a 
recommendation by the Nomination Committee) 
in line with the above, the Company Secretary will 
issue a formal letter to the relevant Non-executive 
Director confirming this arrangement in the form 
of a side letter to the existing letter of appointment 
which shall remain in full force and effect unless other 
amendments are required.

The Nomination Committee shall apply the same 
approach regarding rotation to the Chairman’s term 
of appointment.

Committees of the Board
The composition of the three Committees of 
the Board and the attendance of the members 
throughout the year is set out in the table on page 62.

Remuneration and Audit  
and Risk Committees
Separate reports on the role, composition, 
responsibilities and operation of the Remuneration 
Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee 
are set out on pages 69 to 87 and pages 88 to 92 
respectively.

Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee leads the process 
for Board appointments and the re-election and 
succession of directors and the Chairman. Its key 
objective is to ensure that the Board comprises 
individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge and 
experience to ensure that the Board is effective in 
discharging its duties. 

It is responsible for making recommendations to the 
Board concerning the composition and skills of the 
Board including any changes considered necessary 
in the identification and nomination of new directors, 
the reappointment of existing directors and the 
appointment of members to the Board’s Committees. 
It also assesses the roles of the existing directors in 
office to ensure there continues to be a balanced 
Board in terms of skills, knowledge, experience and 
diversity. The Nomination Committee reviews the 
senior leadership needs of the Group which will 
enable it to compete effectively in the marketplace. 
The Nomination Committee also advises the Board 
on succession planning for Executive Director 
appointments although the Board as a whole is 
responsible for succession generally. 

The Committee is chaired by Mike Humphrey. Its 
other members, as at 31 December 2016, were 
Jonathan Brooks, Professor Lynn Gladden, Douglas 
Liversidge and Dr Elaine Sullivan, ensuring a 
majority of independent Non-executive Directors 
as prescribed by the Code. To ensure compliance 
with the provisions of the Code, the independence 
of the Committee and to avoid any potential 
conflicts of interest, the Committee has agreed 
that Mike Humphrey will not chair any meetings of 
the Committee dealing with the appointment of a 
successor to the chairmanship of the Group. 

The Nomination Committee meets as and when 
required, or as requested by the Board, and met three 
times during 2016. The attendance by each member 
of the Committee at the meetings during 2016 is set 
out on page 62. 

In line with and in consideration of the 
recommendations provided by Deloitte LLP in the 
2015/16 Effectiveness Review, and following the 
approach adopted by the Group in identifying and 
appointing Lynn Gladden and Elaine Sullivan to the 
Board in March 2014 and July 2015 respectively, it was 
agreed that Stuart Thompson, Director of IP Exec, 
the Group’s in-house executive search function, be 
appointed to run the search and recruitment process 
for a new Non-executive Director as a replacement 
for Mr Liversidge on behalf of the Nomination 
Committee so as to capitalise on the in-depth skill, 
knowledge and experience of IP Exec in recruiting 
Non-executive Directors with relevant expertise.

Ahead of commencing the search and in order to 
enable the job specification to be framed accurately, 
an updated gaps analysis on the Board’s composition 
was initiated in which the following matters were 
considered: the current balance, skills, knowledge, 
diversity and experience of the Board as it presently 
stands with regards both Executive Directors and 
Non-executive Directors, in order to identify what 
will be the main skills, experience and attributes 
required of the new Non-executive Director taking 
the additional role of Senior Independent Director 
presently occupied by Mr Liversidge. Furthermore, 
Mr Thompson conducted one-on-one interviews 
with each of the Directors (both Executive and Non-
executive) in order to determine their views on the 
composition of the Board in light of the appointment 
of this new candidate.

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On completion of this scoping exercise, Mr Thompson 
reported his findings to the Nomination Committee 
at the Board meeting in July 2016 in relation to 
his consideration of and findings relevant to the 
composition of the Board as a whole. The findings of 
this exercise were reviewed by the Committee and 
approved, thereafter the preparation of a detailed 
job specification was undertaken and the recruitment 
search commenced.

The recruitment search is ongoing at the time of this 
report. A longlist of candidates has been carefully 
considered by the Committee in conjunction with 
Mr Thompson and a shortlist of candidates has 
been prepared, with one-on-one interviews being 
conducted with the Chairman and other Directors 
(both Executive and Non-executive) in January and 
February 2017 with a view to a formal appointment 
being made in March or April 2017 to allow for a 
transition period between the incoming candidate 
and Mr Liversidge as the Board’s outgoing Senior 
Independent Director. 

In connection with any future appointments to the 
Board, the Committee will continue to adopt a formal, 
rigorous and transparent procedure, including giving 
full consideration to the balance, skills, knowledge, 
independence and diversity (including gender) 
on the Board in advance of any new search for a 
director to ensure a suitable balance is maintained 
(see paragraph headed “Diversity” on page 58 for 
further explanation of the considerations made by 
the Committee in this regard). Consideration will also 
always be given to whether identified candidates 
have enough time available to devote to the role. 

Succession Planning
During 2016, the Group’s HR Director has worked 
with the Nomination Committee to further formalise 
and advance the Group’s approach to succession 
planning, recognising that succession planning is a 
key factor of sound corporate governance practice 
and in ensuring the ongoing, long term success of 
the business of the Group. In parallel to succession 
planning at the Board and senior executive level, 
developing internal talent at all levels within the 
Group is a continuous process. The Committee is 
responsible for overseeing that suitable leadership 
and talent development plans and processes are 
in place to maximise the potential of the Group’s 
employees and that the Group has effective 
recruitment policies to continue to attract and retain 
talented employees.

The Committee recognises that there is a need for a 
robust succession planning framework to be in place 
to mitigate the risk of any unforeseen circumstances 
and ensure that changes in Board or senior executive 
positions are effectively managed and do not cause 
significant disruption to the Group. In particular, 
the following specific steps were taken in 2016 in 
respect of succession planning for all Directors, 
members of the Executive Committee (who are not 
Board Directors) and other key senior management 
positions:

 • A formalised succession plan was prepared by 

the Group’s HR Director in consultation with the 
Chairman, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, and 
Company Secretary. 

 •

In consideration of the requirements of the Code 
for the Board to satisfy themselves that plans 
are in place for orderly succession at Board and 
senior management level, this formalised plan was 
circulated to the Nomination Committee and the 
Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating 
Officer, with the latter Executives receiving a partly 
redacted version of the planning document in 
order to avoid a possible conflict of interest with 
regards their own succession arrangements.

The Committee carefully considered the succession 
plan in detail at its meeting in May 2016, confirming 
at that time that no further changes were required 
to be made to the plan but that regular reviews of 
the same would be required and that this process be 
led by the Group’s HR Director in consultation with 
the Chairman and others as necessary subject to the 
succession matter in question. 

The Committee together with the HR Director 
retains responsibility for the maintenance and 
where appropriate, updating of the succession plan 
in consultation with the Executive Directors to the 
extent the Committee deems this to be appropriate. 
Where the succession plan addresses matters 
relevant to the succession of an Executive Director, 
the Executive Director in question shall not be 
consulted, so as to avoid issues arising relevant to 
conflicts of interests. 

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In addition, the Committee together with the Group’s 
HR Director is responsible for developing and 
monitoring the Group’s own internal talent pipeline. 
Whilst it is the opinion of the Committee that sound 
systems and procedures are already in place to 
ensure the development of the Group’s employees 
at all levels of the organisation, the Committee along 
with the Executive Directors will continue to oversee 
further enhancement of the same during 2017 with 
support from the HR Director. 

Internal control
The Board fully recognises the importance of the 
Financial Reporting Council’s Guidance on Risk 
Management, Internal Control and Related Financial 
and Business Reporting. The Group’s internal controls, 
which are Group-wide and were in place during the 
whole of 2016, were reviewed by the Board and were 
considered to be effective throughout the year ended 
31 December 2016. 

The Board is responsible for establishing and 
monitoring internal control systems and for reviewing 
the effectiveness of these systems. The Board  
views the effective operation of a rigorous system of 
internal control as critical to the success of the Group. 
However, it recognises that such systems can provide 
only reasonable and not absolute assurance against 
material misstatement or loss. The key elements of 
the Group’s internal control system, all of which have 
been in place during the financial year and are up 
to the date when these financial statements were 
approved, are as follows:

Control environment and procedures
The Group has a clear organisational structure with 
defined responsibilities and accountabilities. It adopts 
the highest values surrounding quality, integrity 
and ethics, and these values are documented 
and communicated clearly throughout the whole 
organisation. 

Detailed written policies and procedures have been 
established covering key operating and compliance 
risk areas. These are reviewed and updated at least 
annually by the Board. The Board considers that the 
controls have been effective for the year ended  
31 December 2016.

Identification and evaluation of 
principal risks and uncertainties
The operations of the Group and the implementation 
of its objectives and strategy are subject to a number 
of key risks and uncertainties. The Board actively 
identifies and evaluates the risks inherent in the 
business, formally reviews these on at least an annual 
basis (or as market or business developments require) 
and ensures that appropriate controls and procedures 
are in place to monitor and, where possible, mitigate 
these risks. Specifically, all decisions relating to 
strategic partnerships and other collaborations 
and acquisitions entered into by the Group are 
reserved for the Board’s review and approval. The 
Board formally reviews the performance of the 
Group’s university partnerships and other strategic 
collaborations and relationships. In order to ensure 
the effective facilitation of this review the Board 
receives a formal presentation and update from 
the Group’s Managing Director, New Business 
and Partnerships Team annually alongside regular 
reporting within the regular Board papers on a rolling 
agenda basis. 

The Board also reviews equity investments on a 
quarterly basis, although performance of specific 
investments may be reviewed more frequently if 
deemed appropriate dependent on their relative size 
as regards the aggregate portfolio as a whole. 

The Board maintains an up-to-date Register of Risks 
setting out mitigations in place in each case. The 
key risks and uncertainties faced by the Group, as 
well as the relevant mitigations, are set out on pages 
38 to 45. Were more than one of the risks to occur 
together, the overall impact on the Group may be 
compounded.

Information and  
financial reporting systems
The Group evaluates and manages significant 
risks associated with the process for preparing 
consolidated accounts by having in place systems 
and controls that ensure adequate accounting 
records are maintained and transactions are recorded 
accurately and fairly to permit the preparation of 
financial statements in accordance with IFRS. The 
Board approves the annual operating budgets and 
receives details of actual performance measured 
against the budget each month. 

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Political expenditure
Although it is the Board’s policy not to incur political 
expenditure or otherwise make cash contributions to 
political parties, and it has no intention of changing 
that policy, the CA 2006 is very broadly drafted in 
this area and the Board has raised a concern that it 
may include activities such as funding conferences 
or supporting certain bodies involved in policy 
review and law reform. Accordingly, at the AGM 
held on 12 May 2016 as per previous Annual General 
Meetings, the shareholders passed a resolution on a 
precautionary basis to authorise the Group to incur 
political expenditure (as defined in Section 365 of 
CA 2006) not exceeding £50,000 in total at any time 
from 12 May 2016 up to the conclusion of the 2017 
AGM. The Board intends to seek renewed authority 
for the Group to incur political expenditure of not 
more than £50,000 in total at the Company’s 2017 
AGM, to be held on 10 May 2017, which they might 
otherwise be prohibited from making or incurring 
under the terms of CA 2006.

Going concern
The Directors confirm that they have a reasonable 
expectation that the Group will have adequate 
resources to continue in operational existence for 
the foreseeable future and accordingly they continue 
to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the 
financial statements.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Mike Humphrey 
Chairman
6 March 2017

Alan Aubrey 
Chief Executive Officer

Relations with stakeholders
The Company is committed to a continuous dialogue 
with shareholders as it believes that it is essential 
to ensure amongst its shareholders a greater 
understanding of, and confidence in, the short, 
medium and longer term strategy of the Group and 
in the Board’s ability to oversee its implementation. It 
is the responsibility of the Board as a whole to ensure 
that a satisfactory dialogue takes place. The Board’s 
primary shareholder contact is through the Chairman, 
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, 
Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial 
Officer. The Board’s primary contact with the limited 
partners and advisory boards of its managed funds 
is through the Chief Investment Officer and the Chief 
Executive Officer. The Senior Independent Director 
and other Directors make themselves available, as 
appropriate, for contact with major shareholders 
and other stakeholders in order to understand their 
issues and concerns. Where considered appropriate, 
major institutional shareholders are consulted on 
significant changes to the Board and the structure of 
the Executive Directors’ remuneration. 

The Company uses the Annual General Meeting 
(“AGM”) as an opportunity to communicate with its 
shareholders. Notice of the AGM, which will be held 
at 2.00pm on 10 May 2017 at IP Group plc, 9th Floor, 
The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, London, EC4N 
8AF is enclosed with this report. In line with the Code, 
the Notice of AGM will be sent to shareholders at 
least 20 working days before the meeting. Details of 
the resolutions and the explanatory notes thereto are 
included with the Notice. To ensure compliance with 
the Code, the Board proposes separate resolutions 
for each issue and proxy forms allow shareholders 
who are unable to attend the AGM to vote for or 
against or to withhold their vote on each resolution. 
The results of all proxy voting are published on the 
Group’s website after the meeting and declared at 
the meeting itself to those shareholders who attend. 
Shareholders who attend the AGM will have the 
opportunity to ask questions and all directors are 
expected to be available to take questions. 

The Group’s website (www.ipgroupplc.com) is the 
primary source of information on the Group. The 
website includes an overview of the activities of 
the Group; details of its portfolio companies, and 
its key university partnerships and other strategic 
collaborations; and details of all recent Group and 
portfolio announcements.

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Directors’ Remuneration Report
Remuneration Statement

Implementing our agreed Policy against 
the backdrop of a challenging and 
changing environment 
Jonathan Brooks Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

On behalf of your Board, I am pleased to present our 
Directors’ Remuneration Report (“DRR”) for the year 
ended 31 December 2016. 

8% annualised return has not been met. As a result, it 
is currently anticipated that none of the 2014 awards 
will vest.

2016 Performance and  
incentive out-turns
Like many businesses, 2016 has presented the 
Group and its portfolio companies with a number 
of challenges, particularly in the equity financial 
markets and, while we remain confident that the 
underlying commercial progress in many of our 
spin-out companies will be reflected in their value 
over the medium to long term, the fair value of our 
portfolio has not increased by the levels required in 
order to attain our incentive targets. The performance 
objectives for the Annual Incentive Scheme (“AIS”) 
and the Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) are 
both strongly aligned with the Group’s financial 
performance and, as a result of 2016’s performance, 
neither scheme will vest this year.

The Group’s Return on Hard NAV for 2016 was 
negative £7.6m, a significant contrast to the Group’s 
record positive return of £84.0m in 2015. This means 
that the threshold target for the 2016 AIS was not 
met and, as a consequence, neither the Executive 
Directors nor any of the Group’s employees will 
receive any annual incentive awards this year. We 
provide transparent disclosure of our annual bonus 
performance targets on both a retrospective and 
prospective basis. Full details of annual bonus targets 
for 2016 and forward looking targets for 2017 are 
contained in this report.

Similarly, the cumulative three-year return on the 
Group’s Hard net assets has not met the 8% per 
annum threshold target for the Group’s 2014 LTIP 
awards that were scheduled to vest in March 2017. 
Further, while the actual absolute Total Shareholder 
Return (“TSR”) performance period for the 2014 LTIP 
awards runs until 31 March 2017, based on the Group’s 
share price at the date of this report, the minimum 

The Committee considers that these outcomes 
are appropriate in light of the Group’s financial 
performance and reflect the Committee’s ‘pay for 
performance’ principles and the stretching, objective 
incentive targets.

Remuneration Principles
IP Group’s recruitment mantra is to hire extraordinary 
people to do extraordinary things and we believe 
that our people should be well rewarded when they 
achieve the challenging performance expectations 
required to maintain the Group’s success. We believe 
the remuneration packages should reflect a ‘low 
base/ high long-term variable’ mix which aligns to 
this ‘pay for performance’ principle. 

We also believe rewards should be market 
competitive to ensure we attract and retain people 
of the highest calibre. We achieve this through 
periodically benchmarking against companies of a 
similar size and complexity and those most likely to 
be a competitor for our talent. In this context, the 
Committee is also cognisant that the sector in which 
the Group operates, the commercialisation of science, 
has continued to see an increase in both the number 
of companies and the level of investor interest in 
recent years. 

The Committee also ensures the framework aligns to 
investor expectations and best practice. 

Finally, we continue to place significant emphasis 
on the fair and consistent application of our 
remuneration principles across the Group, with 
a number of components of pay cascaded to all 
employees throughout our business. 

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Remuneration Statement

The remuneration framework for our executive directors reflects the application of these principles, and is 
summarised below: 

Salary

Pension 

Typically, salaries approach the bottom end of a market competitive range for similar sized 
companies

 •

10% of salary contribution to Company defined contribution plan, personal pension plan or 
cash equivalent

AIS

 • Maximum 100% of salary 

 • Based on stretching return on Hard NAV targets disclosed retrospectively and prospectively

 • Half of any bonus deferred into equity over two-year period

 • AIS arrangements cascade to all employees in the business

LTIP 

 • Annual awards of 300% of salary (CEO) and 200% of salary (other executive directors) 

 • Based on stretching Hard NAV and TSR growth targets (with a relative TSR underpin)

 •

Includes a two-year post-vesting holding period 

 • LTIP arrangements cascade to all employees in the business

 • 200% of salary (CEO) and 150% (other executive directors)

Shareholding 
guidelines

Clawback 

 • Comprehensive clawback provisions on all variable elements 

Implementing phased increases 
approved at 2016 AGM
In our 2015 Annual Report, we outlined the proposal 
to increase the total remuneration opportunity for 
the Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive 
Directors using a phased approach over a number 
of years. The changes, which were overwhelmingly 
approved by 99.95% of shareholders at the Group’s 
2016 AGM, are intended to position Executive Director 
salaries near to the lower quartile of executives at 
companies of a similar size and complexity and 
to align executive remuneration with the Group’s 
long-term business model to an even greater extent 
by further shifting the balance of the overall mix of 
Directors’ remuneration towards the longer term. As 
outlined during the shareholder consultation process, 
these changes sought to address the fact that the 
total remuneration of the executives, and the CEO in 
particular, had been historically considerably lower 
than comparator companies and that this issue was 
considered to present an unacceptable risk to the 
Group if left unaddressed. The Committee’s proposal 
was approved at the Annual General Meeting on 
12 May 2016.

The changes set out below were all disclosed in 
the 2015 Directors’ Remuneration Report and were 
approved by shareholders as described above. No 
additional changes are proposed.

Executive Directors’ base salaries for 2017
As described in the 2015 Remuneration Report 
and approved last year, the following changes to 
Executive Directors’ salaries to reflect the agreed 
phased schedule of long-term increases will be 
implemented in April this year: 

 • The CEO’s base salary will be increased by 15.9% to 

£400,000;

 • The CFO’s base salary will be increased by 10.9% 

to £265,000;

 • The base salary for the Chief Operating Officer and 
Chief Investment Officer will increase by 3.9% to 
£265,000

With these increases, the Committee considers 
that the salaries of the executive directors will be 
around the lower quartile when compared to a peer 
group of companies of similar size and complexity. 
These increases represent the final stage of the 
phased increases agreed last year. For next year, the 
Committee currently anticipates reverting to the 
approach set out in the Remuneration Policy whereby 
any increases will not normally exceed the average 
increase awarded to other UK-based employees. 

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Committee Chairmanship
I am currently the Chairman of the Group’s 
Remuneration Committee and its Audit and Risk 
Committee, the former being a position that I 
assumed on a non-permanent basis from Mike 
Humphrey when he became the Group’s Chairman 
in 2015. In the past year, I have overseen the 
implementation of the Group’s new Remuneration 
Policy having undertaken an extensive consultation 
with our major shareholders during 2015 and early 
2016. As I intimated in last year’s report, it is now my 
intention to hand over the chairperson role for the 
Remuneration Committee in the forthcoming twelve 
months and the Nominations Committee will consider 
the most appropriate candidate for the role during 
this period.

Approval of updated Remuneration 
Policy and Report in 2016
Our updated Remuneration Policy and 2015 Directors’ 
Remuneration Report each received 99.95% of votes 
cast in favour at our AGM in May 2016 and, while 
this indicated a strong level of support, the Group 
remains as committed as ever to engagement and 
transparency and I welcome the opportunity for 
continued discussion of the Group’s remuneration 
with any shareholder, either at our AGM or at any 
other time during the year.

Structure of this report
The following pages contain an extract of our 
Remuneration Policy (as approved by shareholders), 
a summary of how we intend to implement the policy 
during 2017, and the detailed disclosure of outcomes 
in respect of 2016. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Jonathan Brooks
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
6 March 2017

We have approached the general increases for 
employees with the same principles of benchmarking 
and calibration as in previous years. Following two 
years of more significant base salary adjustments 
to more closely align with comparable roles in 
comparable companies, the average increase across 
the employee base has been agreed at 4.5%.

More detail on the executive director salary increases 
is set out on page 76.

Executive Directors’ AIS and LTIP 
opportunities
There will be no change to AIS or LTIP opportunities 
for 2017. 

Long Term Incentive Carry Scheme 
(“LTICS”)
The Committee considers that, in order to align its 
employees with its core strategic objectives, the 
Group’s remuneration structure requires incentive 
levers covering the short term, the longer term and, 
in common with many of our comparator companies, 
incentives directly aligned with the returns achieved 
on the specific assets, potentially over a much longer 
term of 10 years or more. 

Following the shareholder consultation described 
above, the Group has introduced a new LTICS for all 
employees other than executive directors. This new 
scheme reinforces the link between the performance, 
development and ultimately the profitable disposal 
of underlying portfolio company holdings and the 
Group’s employee reward. This very long term 
scheme (8-10+ years) represents the third lever in 
our remuneration framework and its objective is to 
give staff the equivalent of a ‘founder’s stake’ in the 
portfolio companies that they help find, create and 
build.

The LTICS works by offering staff the opportunity to 
participate in the eventual returns from the Group’s 
portfolio that are in excess of the original capital 
invested by the Group and after taking account of 
an annualised hurdle return. Portfolio companies 
are grouped into biennial vintage years with each 
company being allocated to one carry vintage and all 
capital invested and returns from that company will 
be included in that single carry vintage. The scheme 
contains well-defined good/bad leaver provisions, 
and malus and claw-back provisions. The scheme was 
launched towards the end of 2016 with strong take-
up by employees.

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Remuneration policy and components

Remuneration policy extract
The Remuneration Policy was approved at the AGM held on 12 May 2016 and was effective as of that date. An 
extract of the policy table for executive directors contained in that policy is re-produced below for information 
only. The full Remuneration Policy is contained on pages 65 to 74 of the 2015 annual report which is available 
in the investor relations section of the Group’s website.

Where relevant, references previously to 2015 and 2016 have been updated to reflect the application in 2016 
and 2017.

Remuneration Policy table
The table below sets out the key components of the Policy for Executive Directors’ remuneration:

Performance 
metrics

None, although 
performance of 
the individual is 
considered by 
the Committee 
when setting and 
reviewing salaries 
annually.

Component

Salary

Purpose and link to 
strategy

How this component of 
remuneration operates

Maximum opportunity

To provide an 
appropriate level of 
fixed cash income 
to attract and 
retain individuals 
with the personal 
attributes, skills and 
experience required 
to deliver the 
Group’s strategy

Generally reviewed annually with 
increases currently effective from 
1 April. 

There is no prescribed 
maximum annual 
salary.

Base salaries will be set by the 
Committee taking into account:

 •

 •

scale, scope and responsibility 
of the role;

skills and experience of the 
individual;

 •

retention risk;

 • base salary of other employees;

 • base salary of individuals 

undertaking similar roles in 
companies of comparable size 
and complexity; and

 •

appropriate market benchmarks.

Annual salary increases 
for executive directors 
will not normally 
exceed the average 
increase awarded 
to other UK-based 
employees. 

Increases may be 
above this level in 
circumstances where 
the Committee 
considers it 
appropriate, for 
example if there is an 
increase in the scale, 
scope or responsibility 
of the role or to allow 
the base salary of 
recently appointed 
executives who are 
appointed on initially 
lower levels of base 
salary to move towards 
market norms as 
their experience and 
contribution increase.

Where a significant 
discrepancy exists 
between an executive 
director’s current 
salary and market 
levels, the Committee 
will normally phase 
any increases over 
a number of years. 
Following shareholder 
consultation in 2015, 
the Committee is 
implementing a 
number of phased 
salary increases to 
executive directors 
over 2015 – 2018.

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Purpose and link to 
strategy

How this component of 
remuneration operates

Contribution to Group Pension Plan 
(defined contribution scheme) or 
to personal pension plan of the 
relevant executive’s choosing or an 
equivalent cash alternative.

No element other than base salary 
is pensionable.

Component

Pension

Benefits

Provide a 
competitive 
post-retirement 
benefit in a way 
that manages the 
overall cost to the 
Group in order to 
retain individuals 
with the personal 
attributes, skills and 
experience required 
to deliver the 
Group’s strategy

Provide a 
competitive 
and appropriate 
benefits package 
to assist individuals 
in carrying out 
their duties 
effectively and to 
retain individuals 
with the personal 
attributes, skills and 
experience required 
to deliver the 
Group’s strategy

Our Governance Committee Reports

Performance 
metrics

Not applicable

Maximum opportunity

Maximum pension is 
15% of base salary, 
however current 
operation is 10% of 
base salary for all 
executive directors.

Not applicable

Ongoing benefits typically 
comprise, but are not limited to, 
health and travel insurance, income 
protection and life assurance 
and may also comprise a car 
benefit (or cash equivalent) and 
telecommunications such as 
broadband. 

The Group also offers certain 
salary sacrifice schemes including 
childcare vouchers, purchase of 
additional holiday and Ride to 
Work.

Executive directors may also 
participate in any all-employee 
share plans that may be operated 
by the Group from time to time on 
the same terms as other employees.

Additional benefits, which may 
include relocation expenses, 
housing allowance or other 
benefits-in-kind, may be provided in 
certain circumstances if considered 
appropriate and reasonable by the 
Committee, including as may be 
required on recruitment.

The cost of benefits 
provided changes 
in accordance with 
market conditions 
and will, therefore, 
determine the 
maximum amount 
that would be paid in 
the form of benefits 
under the Policy. There 
is therefore no overall 
maximum opportunity 
under this component 
of the Policy.

One-off benefits, e.g. 
relocation, shall not 
ordinarily exceed 25% 
of base salary other 
than in exceptional 
circumstances at 
the discretion of the 
Committee.

Maximum awards 
under all employee 
share plans would be 
subject to prevailing 
statutory limit.

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Remuneration policy and components

Maximum opportunity

The maximum annual 
level of award is 100% 
of salary.

Given the Group’s 
salary year currently 
runs from 1 April to 31 
March, the base salary 
used will normally be 
that which is in effect 
at the end of the 
annual financial year 
to which the award 
relates.

Performance 
metrics

Specific targets 
and weightings 
will vary from 
year to year in 
accordance with 
strategic priorities 
but may include 
targets relating to:

 • Relative or 

absolute TSR; 

 • Hard net 
assets; 

 • Financial 

performance;

 • Appropriate 
non-financial 
measures; and

 • Attainment 
of personal 
objectives.

 • Weighting will 
be primarily 
towards Group 
financial 
performance.

 • Performance 

will typically be 
measured over 
one year.

Component

Purpose and link to 
strategy

How this component of 
remuneration operates

Annual 
Incentive 
Scheme 
(“AIS”)

To provide a 
simple, competitive, 
performance-linked 
annual incentive 
mechanism that 
will:

attract, retain 
and motivate 
individuals with the 
required personal 
attributes, skills and 
experience;

provide a real 
incentive to achieve 
our strategic 
objectives; and

align the interests 
of management 
and shareholders.

The AIS is reviewed annually prior 
to the start of each financial year 
to ensure the detailed performance 
measures and weightings are 
appropriate and continue to 
support the business strategy. 
Financial and/or non-financial 
performance targets are set at or 
around the start of each financial 
year.

Actual AIS amounts are determined 
via a two-stage process. Firstly, 
performance against the agreed 
metrics is assessed. Secondly, the 
Committee reviews these results in 
the context of underlying business 
performance and the Group’s 
financial position and may adjust 
the stage one outcome at its 
discretion.

Subject to a suitable minimum 
amount, set by the Committee at 
the start of each year, awards will 
typically be payable 50% in cash 
and 50% in IP Group shares. The 
share element is in the form of 
conditional awards of shares or 
nil-cost options (or equivalent at 
the Committee’s discretion) and 
is subject to further time-based 
vesting over two years (50% 
after year 1 and 50% after year 2) 
although the Committee may adjust 
the % split between cash and shares 
based on the financial position of 
the Group. The IP Group shares 
element shall be satisfied by awards 
of options under the deferred 
bonus share plan (“DBSP”).

In the case of intended fraud or 
misconduct by a participant that 
contributes to a significant error in 
financial information, the Company 
will be entitled to claw back the 
value of any cash amount paid 
under the AIS for that year and to 
cancel the vesting of any deferred 
share element, for a period of up 
to three years following the date of 
award or payment.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Component

Long-term 
incentive 
plan 
(“LTIP”)

Purpose and link to 
strategy

How this component of 
remuneration operates

To provide a 
competitive, 
performance-linked 
long-term incentive 
mechanism that 
will:

 •

attract, retain 
and motivate 
individuals with 
the required 
personal 
attributes, skills 
and experience;

 • provide a 

 •

real incentive 
to achieve 
our strategic 
objectives; and

align the 
interests of 
management 
and 
shareholders.

The LTIP is reviewed annually prior 
to the start of each financial year 
to ensure the detailed performance 
measures and weightings are 
appropriate and continue to 
support the business strategy. 
Financial and/or non-financial 
performance targets are set at or 
around the start of each financial 
year.

Awards under the LTIP typically 
comprise conditional awards 
of shares in IP Group (although 
instruments with similar economic 
effect may be used if considered 
appropriate). 

From the 2013 LTIP awards onwards 
any share awards that vest, net 
of any tax and NICs liabilities, are 
subject to a further holding period. 
The holding period is one year for 
the 2013 LTIP and two years for 
subsequent awards. 

In the case of intended fraud or 
misconduct by a participant that 
contributes to a significant error in 
financial information the Company 
will be entitled to reduce the 
number of shares in respect of an 
unvested award and/or claw back 
any shares subject to the post 
vesting holding period.

Calculations of the achievement of 
the vesting targets are reviewed 
and approved by the Committee.

Our Governance Committee Reports

Maximum opportunity

The maximum annual 
level of award is:

300% of salary for the 
Chief executive officer; 
and

A lower percentage 
for other Executive 
Directors

Each year the 
Committee determines 
the annual award for 
each executive director 
within the above Policy 
limits. 

The award level for 
2017 shall continue to 
be 300% of the 2017/18 
base salary for the 
Chief Executive Officer 
and 200% for all other 
executive directors. 

The overall maximum 
under the LTIP 
approved by 
shareholders is 400% 
of salary. However, the 
policy limits set out 
above will apply and 
this plan limit will only 
be used in exceptional 
circumstances (such 
as a buyout on 
recruitment or where 
an award could not be 
made in the relevant 
year and needs to be 
made in a subsequent 
year).

Performance 
metrics

Specific targets 
may vary from 
year to year in 
accordance with 
strategic priorities 
but shall be based 
on:

Relative or 
absolute TSR and 

Hard net assets.

These 
performance 
criteria shall be 
presented in a 
matrix format 
similar to that set 
out in the Annual 
Remuneration 
Report.

The level of 
vesting for 
threshold 
performance 
is 30% of the 
maximum.

Where absolute 
TSR is used as 
a performance 
metric, awards 
may be subject 
to a relative 
performance 
underpin against 
an appropriate 
benchmark index 
or comparator 
group.

Performance 
will ordinarily be 
measured based 
on a performance 
period of at least 
three years.

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Annual Remuneration Report

Statement of implementation of 
remuneration policy in the following 
financial year
During 2015 and early 2016, we consulted extensively 
with shareholders as part of a comprehensive review 
of executive director remuneration. As a result of 
the review and subsequent approval of the updated 
Policy by 99.95% of shareholders at the 2016 AGM, 
the Committee has implemented the following two 
primary changes to the operation of the Group’s 
remuneration arrangements for 2016 and beyond:

Increases to Executive Directors’ base salaries. In 
particular, we are making increases, on a phased 
basis, to the salaries of the CEO and the CFO. 
Positioning of salaries following the increases will be 
around lower quartile of a peer group of companies 
of a similar size and complexity to the Group.

Increase in Executive Directors’ LTIP opportunities. 
This reflects our performance based philosophy with 
a focus on the long term. The levels also reflect a ‘low 
base/high variable’ approach.

These changes to both salaries and LTIP are 
addressing issues which have confronted the 
Committee for several years. An important principle is 
that we are introducing salary increases on a phased 
basis as approved by the Group’s shareholders at the 
2016 AGM following an extensive consultation.

The changes set out below were all disclosed in 
the 2015 Directors’ Remuneration Report and were 
approved by shareholders as described above. No 
additional changes are proposed.

Salary and fixed components
With effect from 1 April 2017, the base salaries of the 
Executive Directors will be: 

2017/18 base 
salary

% 
change

Alan Aubrey (CEO)

£400,000

15.9% (£55,000)

Mike Townend (CIO)

£265,000

3.9% (£10,000)

Greg Smith (CFO)

£265,000

10.9% (£26,000)

David Baynes (COO)

£265,000

3.9% (£10,000)

As has been the case for a number of years, the 
Committee considers that, as part of a competitive 
overall package, base salaries should be within a 
market-competitive range. Given IP Group’s business 
model and stage of development, this is currently 
considered to be within lower quartile to median of 
companies of a similar size and complexity. 

As described in the Group’s 2015 Directors’ 
Remuneration Report, the Committee recognised 
that the situation where the salaries for a number of 
its Executive Directors, and most particularly its CEO, 
remained significantly below this market-competitive 
range could not be left unaddressed indefinitely 
without posing a major potential risk to the Group. 
As a result, the Committee engaged in a major 
consultation process and, having received input from 
shareholders representing approximately 70% of the 
total register, the Committee determined that, the 
salary of the Group’s CEO would be £345,000 with 
effect from 1 April 2016 and would be increased to 
£400,000 with effect from 1 April 2017. 

The increase for the CFO from £239,000 to £265,000 
with effect from 1 April 2017 reflects an increase that 
is being phased over a number of years to bring him 
closer to a lower-quartile salary commensurate with 
his increased experience having initially joined the 
Board on a lower base salary.

Following the increases set out in the above table, 
the Committee considers that the salaries of the 
Executive Directors will be around the lower quartile 
when compared to a peer group of companies of 
similar size and complexity. These increases represent 
the final stage of the phased increases agreed 
last year. For next year, the Committee currently 
anticipates reverting to the approach set out in the 
Remuneration Policy whereby any increases will not 
normally exceed the average increase awarded to 
other UK-based employees. 

For context, the average increase across all staff in 
the UK business, excluding executive directors and 
new joiners, was 6.6% in 2016 and is anticipated to be 
approximately 4.5% for 2017.

Pension and benefits will continue to be in line with 
the levels stated in the policy table. 

Incentives
As described above, in 2016 the Committee 
implemented a change in the variable earning 
opportunity for the executive directors consistent 
with our ‘pay for performance’ and ‘low base/ 
high long-term variable’ approach to executive 
remuneration and intends to continue to apply the 
same approach in 2017. 

Consistent with the maximum opportunity for the 
2016 LTIP awards, the 2017 LTIP awards will be made 
at 300% of base salary for the CEO and 200% of base 
salary for all other Executive Directors. Performance 
will continue to be assessed against growth in hard 

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NAV and TSR performance (with the underpin based 
on relative TSR against the FTSE 250) as per the 
vesting tables for the 2013 LTIP set out on page 79.  
Any awards that vest, net of any tax and NICs 
liabilities, will continue to be subject to a further  
two-year holding period.

The maximum AIS opportunity will remain at 100% 
of base salary for all Executive Directors. As with 
the 2016 AIS, the sole performance measure remains 
the annual return achieved on the Group’s Hard 
NAV. The Committee determines the AIS target 
return level each year taking into consideration the 
blend of assets that constitute the Group hard NAV, 
particularly the relative level of cash on which it is 
not currently possible to achieve a return in excess of 
approximately 1%. Reflecting our commitment to full 
transparency, we are again disclosing the AIS targets 
on a prospective basis. For 2017, the Committee 
has determined that threshold vesting of 25% of 
the maximum award will be available provided a 
minimum return of 6% is achieved while the maximum 
awards pool will be available should a return of 16% or 
greater be achieved. In absolute terms, this requires 
the achievement of a return on hard NAV in excess of 
£42m before any AIS may be awarded and a return in 
excess of £113m in order for full awards to be made. 
To put this into context, in order to achieve the upper 
target, the Group would need to achieve a return 

on NAV more than 30% greater than the £84.0m 
achieved in 2015, itself the highest return on Hard 
NAV achieved by the Group in its history to date. The 
targets are therefore considered by the Committee 
to be appropriately stretching, particularly in light 
of the 2016 performance out-turns and the current 
economic climate including equity markets in the UK 
and other relevant major economies. 

Chairman and Non-Executive Directors
The fees for the Chairman for 2017/18 shall be 
£150,000, unchanged from the annual fee on 
his appointment in 2015. The fees of the Non-
Executive Directors will be £42,000 reflecting a 5% 
increase compared to 2016/17. Additional fees for 
chairmanship of a board committee, or for being 
senior independent director, shall remain £7,500. 
These fees are considered to be at or around the 
lower quartile for equivalent roles in companies of 
similar size and complexity to the Group.

Single figure for total remuneration 
(audited)
The following table sets out the single figure for total 
remuneration for Directors for the financial years 
ended 31 December 2016 and 2015.

All £000s

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

Base salary/fees

Benefits

Pension1

Annual Bonus 
(AIS)2

LTIP3

Total

Executive Directors

Alan Aubrey4

Mike Townend

Greg Smith

David Baynes5

Non-executive directors

Mike Humphrey

Jonathan Brooks

Doug Liversidge

Lynn Gladden

Elaine Sullivan

232

254

232

254

202

239

206

239

150

126

55

47

40

40

52

44

39

16

4

7

5

17

36

—

16

—

16

4

8

5

12

—

—

—

—

—

29

23

23

25

—

—

—

—

—

25

24

21

24

—

—

—

—

—

— 300

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

182

159

182

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

138

110

78

 — 

265

284

260

296

669

563

469

457

—

—

—

—

—

153

126

55

48

40

41

52

44

39

16

1.  Pension includes payments made to defined contribution schemes on behalf of the Directors or the value of any cash equivalent if applicable.

2. 

3. 

4. 

 The Group did not achieve the threshold performance level required for there to be an AIS bonus pool in 2016. AIS Bonus reflects total award 
value however any awards are payable 50% in cash and 50% in IP Group shares, with the share element subject to time-based vesting over two 
years.

 The LTIP value for 2016 is based on the fact that none of the 2014 LTIP awards are expected by the Committee to vest in March 2017 based 
on the performance conditions at 3 March 2017. The LTIP value for the 2015 comparative has been updated to reflect the actual share price on 
vesting, being 170p per share. Further information about the level of vesting for both of these awards is provided in the additional disclosures 
section pages 78 and 79.

 In addition, Alan Aubrey retained board fees in 2016 totalling £101,667 (2015: £88,333) from portfolio companies in which the Group is a 
shareholder and that were deducted from his base salary, as described further under “Outside appointments for executive directors” on page 
86.

5.  David Baynes received reimbursement of certain travel costs considered commensurate with a car allowance, which were subject to PAYE/NI.

6.  Commuting costs for Non-Executive Directors are reimbursed and are subject to PAYE/NI.

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77

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comDirectors’ Remuneration Report CONTINUED
Annual Remuneration Report

Additional disclosures for single 
figure for total remuneration table 
(audited)
Annual incentive scheme 
The targets for the 2016 AIS were solely financial in 
nature and were based on the annual return on hard 
net assets (i.e. excluding intangible assets) which 
were £714.3m at 31 December 2015. The targets for 
2016 and the outturn against these were as follows: 

Performance 
condition

Target 
Performance

Actual/forecast
Performance

Hard NAV1 (at 
31 Dec 2016)

8%: £750m 
15%: £885m

£706m 
(6% p.a. growth)

Annual TSR2 
(share price)

8%: 226p 
15%: 321p

172p 
(-7% p.a. growth)

Comparative 
TSR

FTSE 250 
+26%

IP Group 
-19%

1. 

2. 

Actual 
Performance

-1% return 
(£7.6m)

 Hard NAV target increased by Committee to reflect £21.7m Fusion 
IP net assets acquired in 2014 and £276.1m net proceeds of the 
Group’s placings in 2014 and 2015.

 TSR performance shown reflects the Group’s one-month average 
share price to 3 March 2017. Actual performance period is the one-
month average to 31 March 2017. 

The actual performance of the Group in terms of Hard 
NAV growth was below threshold and based on the 
1-month average share price to 3 March 2017, was 
below the lower TSR target and that of the FTSE 250 
TSR performance. On this basis, the 2014 LTIP award 
is not expected to meet the minimum performance 
criteria required for vesting. The amounts disclosed 
above in the single remuneration figure table are 
based on this performance and resulting expected 
outcome. Actual vesting will be based on TSR 
performance to 31 March 2017.

Performance 
condition

Vesting criteria

Return on 
Hard NAV

6% return (£42m): 25% 
of maximum opportunity 
(“threshold”) 
17% return (£121m): 100% 
of maximum opportunity

As shown in the table, and as noted previously, the 
financial performance of the Group in 2016 was a -1% 
actual return on hard NAV. Therefore, the Committee 
did not allocate any of the award pool. 

Long-term incentive scheme
2014 LTIP awards due to vest in March 2017
The 2014 LTIP awards are based on the performance 
of the Group’s Hard NAV (the Group’s net assets 
excluding intangibles and the Oxford Equity Rights 
asset) for the three financial years ending on  
31 December 2016 and Total Shareholder Return 
(“TSR”) from March 2014 to the ordinary vesting date, 
being 31 March 2017, using a one-month average. Both 
performance measures are combined into a matrix 
format as per the vesting table below. The total 
award is subject to an underpin based on the relative 
performance of the Group’s TSR to that of the FTSE 
250 index, which can reduce the awards by up to 50%.

Vesting matrix: estimated 2014 LTIP out-turn

15%

60%

75%

90%

100%

.

)
.
a
p
(
R
S
T

10%

30%

45%

60%

90%

8%

15%

30%

45%

75%

<8%

0%

15%

30%

60%

<8%

8%

10%

15%

Growth in NAV (p.a.)

78

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Our Governance Committee Reports

2013 LTIP awards that vested in March 2016
The following table sets out the outcomes of the 
performance measures relating to the 2013 LTIP 
awards against the vesting criteria. 

Vesting matrix: actual 2013 LTIP out-turn

15%

60%

75%

90%

100%

.

)
.
a
p
(
R
S
T

10%

30%

45%

60%

90%

8%

15%

30%

45%

75%

<8%

0%

15%

30%

60%

<8%

8%

10%

15%

Growth in NAV (p.a.)

Performance 
condition

Target 
Performance

Actual
Performance

Hard NAV1 (at 
31 Dec 2015)

8%: £624m 
15%: £712m

£714.3m 
(15.2% p.a. growth)

Annual TSR2 
(share price)

8%: 180p 
15%: 217p

170p 
(5.6% p.a. growth)

Comparative 
TSR2

FTSE 250 
+30%

IP Group 
+23%

1. 

2. 

 Hard NAV target increased by Committee to reflect £21.7m Fusion 
IP net assets acquired in 2014 and £276.1m net proceeds of the 
Group’s placings in 2014 and 2015.

 Group TSR performance based on one-month average prior to date 
of award and prior to 31 March 2017.

Executive Director

Type of 
interest

Basis of 
award
(% salary)

Alan Aubrey

2016 LTIP

Mike Townend

2016 LTIP

Greg Smith

2016 LTIP

David Baynes

2016 LTIP

300%

200%

200%

200%

Face 
value1 
(000s)

£1,035

£510

£478

£510

As can be seen from the performance outcomes 
table, the Hard NAV growth performance measure 
was achieved in full while the Group’s Annual TSR 
did not meet the minimum threshold performance. 
Based on the vesting matrix, this would have resulted 
in awards vesting at 60% of maximum, however the 
Group’s TSR was below that of the FTSE 250 index. 
This meant that the relative performance underpin 
applied and the Committee therefore applied the 
performance underpin framework which resulted in 
56.7% of the 2013 LTIP awards vesting on  
31 March 2016. 

2016 LTIP awards 

The 2016 LTIP awards were made based on  
16 May 2016 with a face value of 300% of salary for 
the CEO and 200% of salary for other Executive 
Directors, based on the share price at date of grant 
and vesting subject to performance. Awards are 
calculated by reference to the salary effective for the 
2016/17 salary year. Any conditionally-awarded shares 
that vest (net of tax) shall be subject to a two-year 
holding period.

The performance conditions that apply to both of 
these awards will follow the same matrix structure 
with the same vesting parameters as that set out 
above for the previous awards. Hard NAV growth will 
be measured over the three-year period to  
31 December 2018 (starting point: £714.3m) and TSR 
shall be measured from 31 March 2016 to 31 March 
2019 with a one-month average (starting point: 
176.4p). The underpin will be with reference to TSR 
performance against the FTSE 250 over this same 
period.

Threshold 
vesting2

 End of performance period

30%

30%

30%

30%

31 Dec 2018 (NAV) / 31 Mar 2019 (TSR)

31 Dec 2018 (NAV) / 31 Mar 2019 (TSR)

31 Dec 2018 (NAV) / 31 Mar 2019 (TSR)

31 Dec 2018 (NAV) / 31 Mar 2019 (TSR)

1. 

2. 

 The face value is calculated using the share price used to determine the number of shares awarded, being 155.8p, the closing price of the 
Group’s shares on the date of award. 

 Represents threshold vesting against both elements of the performance matrix. Lower vesting is possible if only one element of the matrix is 
partially met or as a result of the application of the relative performance underpin.

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79

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
Directors’ Remuneration Report CONTINUED
Annual Remuneration Report

Loss of office payments or  
payments to former directors 
(audited information)
No payments for loss of office were made to past 
directors during the year nor were any payments 
made to former directors for director duties that 
have not already been included in their historic single 
figures of remuneration. 

Change in remuneration of the Chief 
Executive Officer compared to 
Group employees
The table below sets out the increase in the 
remuneration of the CEO and that of our UK 
employees (excluding Directors and new joiners/
leavers):

% change 
in base 
salary 
2015 
to 2016

14.9%

6.9%

% change 
in bonus
2015 
to 2016

-100%

-100%

% change 
in benefits 
(exc. 
pensions) 
2015 
to 2016

-4.1%

-3.0%

CEO

UK employees

Historical executive pay and Group performance 
The table and graph below allow comparison of the Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) of the Group and the 
Chief Executive Officer remuneration outcomes over the last eight years. 

The chart below shows the Group’s TSR performance against the performance of the FTSE All-Share, FTSE 
SmallCap and FTSE 250 indices over the eight-year period to 31 December 2016. The Directors have selected 
these indices as, in their opinion, these indices comprise the most relevant equity indices of which the 
Company was a member during a significant proportion of the period in question and against which total 
shareholder return of IP Group plc should be measured. 

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

IP Group

FTSE Small Cap

FTSE All Share

FTSE 250

80

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Committee Reports

Historical Chief Executive Officer remuneration outcomes
The table below summarises the Chief Executive Officer single figure for total remuneration, annual bonus pay-
out and LTIP vesting as a percentage of maximum opportunity for the current year and previous seven years. 

Chief Executive Officer: Alan Aubrey

2009

2010

CEO single figure of remuneration (£000s)

Annual bonus pay-out (% of maximum)

LTIP vesting (% of maximum)

223

n/a

n/a

193

n/a

0%

2011

209

n/a

n/a

2012

2013

3,257

2,231

2014

902

2015

669

n/a

100%

0% 100%

81% 100% 100%

57%

20161

265

0%

0%

1. 

LTIP vesting is based on the current expectations of the performance against the 2014 LTIP targets as discussed on page 78.

Relative spend on pay
The chart below shows the total employee costs, 
change in “hard” NAV and change in share price from 
2015 to 2016.

2015

2016

10.3

9.5

714.3 706.5

205.0

178.8

Total employee costs 
(£m) -8.0% 

Hard NAV 
(£m) -1.1%

Share price 
(p) -12.8%

The information shown in this chart is based on the 
following: 

Total employee pay: Total staff costs from note 8 on 
page 118, including wages and salaries, social security 
costs, pension and share-based payments.

Change in “hard” NAV: change in the Group’s net 
assets excluding goodwill, intangibles and the Oxford 
Equity Rights asset taken from the statement of 
financial position on page 102.

Returns to shareholders: since the Group does not 
currently pay a dividend, returns to shareholders  
are represented by the change in the Group’s share 
price over the period from 31 December 2015 to  
31 December 2016.

Directors’ shareholdings and share 
interests (audited information)
The Group’s Remuneration Policy contains minimum 
shareholding requirements for each of its Executive 
Directors. 

The Committee has set the current limits at 2.0x 
salary for the Chief Executive Officer, and 1.5x salary 
for all other Executive Directors.

This level of shareholding is required to be met within 
four years of 1 July 2013 or date of appointment, if 
later. If the guideline is not met within this timeframe, 
then the Committee will discuss with the relevant 
executive director a plan to ensure that the guideline 
can be met within a reasonable timeframe. The 
Committee will ordinarily require executive directors 
to retain all shares received under the AIS or LTIP, 
other than as required to meet tax and NIC liabilities, 
until the guideline is met.

At the end of the year, all the Executive Directors met 
this requirement. 

Interests in shares
The Directors who held office during 2016 had the 
following beneficial interests in the ordinary shares of 
the Company:

Current directors

Alan Aubrey

Mike Townend

Greg Smith

David Baynes

Jonathan Brooks

Mike Humphrey

Doug Liversidge

Lynn Gladden

Elaine Sullivan

31 December 2016

Number of 
shares

% of share 
capital

2,490,651

1,103,825

260,989

226,066

60,000

80,000

75,297

–

–

0.44%

0.20%

0.05%

0.04%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

–

–

There have been no changes in the interests of the 
directors set out above between 31 December 2016 
and 6 March 2017.

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comDirectors’ Remuneration Report CONTINUED
Annual Remuneration Report

Long-Term Incentive Plan
Directors’ participations in the Group’s LTIP are:

Number of 
shares 
conditionally 
held at 
1 January 
2016

Conditional 
shares 
notionally 
awarded in 
the year

143,239

147,042

124,751

—

—

—

—

664,313

Vested 
during 
the year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

(81,217)

(62,022)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

147,042

124,751

664,313

Potential 
conditional 
interest in 
shares at 
31 December 
2016

Share price 
at date of 
conditional 
award
(p)

Alan Aubrey

2013 LTIP

2014 LTIP

2015 LTIP

2016 LTIP

Mike Townend

2013 LTIP

2014 LTIP

2015 LTIP

2016 LTIP

Greg Smith

2013 LTIP

2014 LTIP

2015 LTIP

2016 LTIP

David Baynes

2014 LTIP

2015 LTIP

2016 LTIP

415,032

664,313

(81,217)

(62,022)

936,106

114,592

117,634

99,801

—

—

—

—

327,342

(64,974)

(49,618)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

117,634

99,801

327,342

332,027

327,342

(64,974)

(49,618)

544,777

81,127

94,310

89,409

—

—

—

—

306,803

(45,999)

(35,128)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

94,310

89,409

306,803

264,846

306,803

(45,999)

(35,128)

490,522

117,634

99,801

—

—

—

327,342

217,435

327,342

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

117,634

99,801

327,342

544,777

Earliest 
vesting 
date(s)

31-Mar-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

31-Mar-19

31-Mar-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

31-Mar-19

31-Mar-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

31-Mar-19

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

31-Mar-19

177.5

177.5

214.5

155.8

177.5

177.5

214.5

155.8

177.5

177.5

214.5

155.8

177.5

214.5

155.8

82

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our Governance Committee Reports

Deferred bonus share plan (“DBSP”) 
Directors’ interests in nil-cost options under the Group’s DBSP that have been granted in order to defer AIS 
bonuses in accordance with our Policy are as follows:

Options 
held at 
1 January 
2016 

Options 
awarded in 
the year

Exercised 
during the 
year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Options 
held at 
31 December 
2016

Share price 
at date of 
award
(p)

Alan Aubrey

Deferral from 2013 AIS

33,037

Deferral from 2015 AIS

Deferral from 2015 AIS

—

—

—

42,710

42,710

33,037

85,420

Mike Townend

Deferral from 2013 AIS

22,024

Deferral from 2015 AIS

Deferral from 2015 AIS

—

—

—

25,981

25,981

22,024

51,962

Greg Smith

Deferral from 2013 AIS

15,593

Deferral from 2015 AIS

Deferral from 2015 AIS

—

—

—

22,637

22,637

15,593

45,274

David Baynes

Deferral from 2015 AIS

Deferral from 2015 AIS

—

—

—

25,981

25,981

51,962

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

33,037

42,710

42,710

118,457

22,024

25,981

25,981

73,986

15,593

22,637

22,637

60,867

25,981

25,981

51,962

Earliest 
vesting 
date(s)

15-Apr-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

15-Apr-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

15-Apr-16

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

192.4

175.6

175.6

192.4

175.6

175.6

192.4

175.6

175.6

175.6

175.6

31-Mar-17

31-Mar-18

Save-as-You-Earn (“SAYE”) 
The Group operates an HMRC-registered SAYE share save scheme for all UK employees in which two Executive 
Directors are current participants. Their currently outstanding option contracts under the SAYE and the 
respective maturity dates are listed in the table below.

Options 
held at 
1 January 
2016 

Options 
awarded in 
the year

Exercised 
during the 
year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Options 
held at 
31 December 
2016

Option 
exercise 
price 
(p)

Share price 
at date of 
award
(p)

Earliest 
vesting 
date(s)

Greg Smith

2014 SAYE

2015 SAYE

David Baynes

2014 SAYE

2015 SAYE

4,105

3,459

7,564

4,975

4,193

9,168

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

4,105

3,459

7,564

4,975

4,193

9,168

144.7p

198.3p 01-Aug-17

171.7p

235.6p 01-Oct-18

144.7p

198.3p 01-Aug-17

171.7p

235.6p 01-Oct-18

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83

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Directors’ Remuneration Report CONTINUED
Annual Remuneration Report

Other long-term interests – legacy arrangements (audited information)
In addition to the Executive Directors’ remuneration arrangements, the Group also operates co-investment  
and carried interest arrangements relating to certain venture capital funds that are under its management. 
Under the co-investment arrangements, executive directors make minority capital and loan commitments to  
IP Venture Fund (“IPVF”) alongside the Group. Executives are entitled to participate in a carried interest scheme 
in respect of IPVF and The North East Technology Fund LP alongside the Group. Carried interest provides 
a preferential return to participants once the partnership in question has returned all funds contributed 
by limited partners together with a pre-agreed rate of return. The carried interest and co-investment 
arrangements will generally contain forfeiture provisions in respect of leavers over the investment period of the 
relevant partnership (typically 5-6 years). 

As described in the Policy, no new allocations of this kind will be made to executive directors in future however 
the current outstanding interests in co-investment and carried interest schemes in connection with the Group’s 
managed funds are as follows:

IPVF co-investment arrangements
The Executive Directors’ commitments to, and returns from, IPVF are set out below. Commitments are made 
indirectly through the IP Venture Fund (FP) LP, which is the founder partner of IPVF.

Total 
commitment
£000

Limited 
partnership 
interest
of IPVF

Total capital 
contributed 
to 1 January 
2016 
£000

Capital 
contributions 
during the 
year
£000

Total capital 
contributions 
at 
31 December 
2016
£000

Capital 
amounts 
repaid during 
the year
£000

Total capital 
amounts 
repaid to 
31 December 
2016
£000

Executive Directors
Alan Aubrey

Mike Townend

Greg Smith

Total

56

56

35

147

0.18%

0.18%

0.11%

0.47%

54

54

34

142

1

1

1

3

55

55

35

145

—

—

—

—

34

34

21

89

Carried interest arrangements
The Executive Directors’ interests in carried interest schemes are set out below:

Carried 
interest(ii)
at 1 January
2016 

Awarded 
during 
the year

Transferred 
during 
the year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Scheme 
Interest at
31 December
2016(iii)

Accrued 
value(iv)
of scheme
interest at
31 December
2016 
£000

1.81%

1.55%

1.81%

1.15%

1.14%

0.85%

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1.81%

1.55%

1.81%

1.15%

1.14%

0.85%

381

—

381

—

240

—

Executive Directors
Alan Aubrey

Mike Townend

Greg Smith

Fund(i)

IPVF

NETF

IPVF

NETF

IPVF

NETF

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

iv. 

 Under the IPVF fund LPA, payments to participants are made when all limited partners have been repaid their contributions together with a hurdle 
rate of 8% compound interest. Under the North East Technology Fund (“NETF”) scheme, payments to participants are made when all limited 
partners have been repaid their contributions together with a hurdle rate of 3.5% compound interest.
 Scheme interest represents the percentage of the relevant pool of investments in respect of which the participant is entitled to participate in the 
realised profits assuming the relevant hurdle return has been met.
 The schemes contain forfeiture provisions over the investment period of the fund which may reduce the scheme interest accruing to any 
participant. The table reflects the maximum scheme interest receivable should no forfeiture occur.
 Accrued value of scheme interests is calculated based upon the current fair value of the relevant limited partnership’s assets in excess of the capital 
contributed and the hurdle rate of return. Any payments will only be made following full repayment of limited partners’ loan commitments and the 
hurdle return and accordingly actual payments under the scheme, if any, may be materially different to those set out above.

Former Fusion IP LTIP
While serving as an executive director of Fusion IP plc, which was acquired by the Group in 2015,  

84

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Committee Reports

Former Fusion IP LTIP
While serving as an executive director of Fusion IP plc, which was acquired by the Group in 2015,  
Mr Baynes was conditionally awarded 1,000,000 shares in Fusion IP plc under the Fusion IP LTIP. As part of 
the arrangements for the acquisition of Fusion IP plc, Mr Baynes’ Fusion IP LTIP awards were converted into 
awards over IP Group shares at the same conversion price per share as the scheme of arrangement was 
undertaken (0.446 IP Group plc shares for every Fusion IP plc share). The awards will vest on  
31 December 2017 provided certain performance conditions are met which relate to, inter alia, the growth 
in value of Fusion IP plc’s net asset value (“Fusion NAV”) from the date of acquisition and the continued 
employment of the individual by the Group. In summary, if Fusion NAV growth of 10% per annum is  
achieved then 30% of an award shall vest. Maximum vesting will occur if Fusion NAV growth of 20% per annum 
is achieved with straight-line vesting between 30 and 100% if Fusion NAV growth of 10%-20% per annum is 
achieved. No vesting shall occur if Fusion NAV growth of less than 10% is achieved. Mr Baynes’ entitlements 
under the Former Fusion IP LTIP are set out in the following table:

Number 
of shares 
conditionally 
held at 
1 January 
2016

Conditional 
shares 
notionally 
awarded 
in the year

Vested 
during 
the year

Lapsed 
during 
the year

Potential 
conditional 
interest in 
shares at 
31 December 
2016

Share price 
at date of 
conditional 
award
(p)

Earliest 
vesting date(s)

David Baynes

446,000

Total

446,000

—

—

—

—

—

—

446,000

446,000

n/a 31 December 2017

Outside appointments for executive directors
Any proposed external directorships are considered by the Board to ensure they do not cause a conflict 
of interest but, subject to this, executive directors may accept a maximum of two outside non-executive 
appointments and indeed the Board believes that it is part of their ongoing development to do so. Where an 
executive director accepts an appointment to the board of a company in which the Group is a shareholder, 
the Group generally retains the related fees. In the circumstances where the executive director receives 
such fees directly, such sums are generally deducted from their base salary from the Group. Fees earned for 
directorships of companies in which the Group does not have a shareholding are normally retained by the 
relevant director.

Any outside appointments (i.e. excluding those companies in which the Group is a shareholder) held by 
executive directors are set out on pages 52 and 53.

Limits on the number of shares used to satisfy share awards (dilution limits)
All of the Group’s incentive schemes that contain an element that may be satisfied in IP Group shares 
incorporate provisions that in any ten-year period (ending on the relevant date of grant), the maximum 
number of the Shares that may be issued or issuable under all such schemes shall not exceed 10% of the issued 
ordinary share capital of the Company from time to time.

The Committee regularly monitors the position 
and prior to the making of any share-based 
award considers the effect of potential vesting of 
outstanding awards to ensure that the Company 
remains within these limits. Any awards which are 
required to be satisfied by market purchased shares 
are excluded from such calculations. No treasury 
shares were held or utilised in the year ended  
31 December 2016.

As at 31 December 2016, the Company’s headroom 
position, which remains within such guidelines, was as 
shown in the chart to the right.

5.6%

1.7%

1.2%

0.5%

0.3%

0.7%

Vested LTIP awards in 
past 10 years — Executives

Vested LTIP awards in 
past 10 years — Other staff
Outstanding LTIP and Fusion
IP LTIP awards — Executives

Outstanding LTIP and Fusion
IP LTIP awards —  Other staff

Other share schemes 
(Sharesave, DBSP, etc)

Additional headroom

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.com

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Directors’ Remuneration Report CONTINUED
Annual Remuneration Report

Service agreements
The Executive Directors have service contracts that commenced on the dates set out in the chart below and 
contain a contractual notice period of six months by either party. The Non-Executive Directors have letters of 
appointment that commenced on the dates set out in the chart below are generally for an initial fixed term 
of three years, which is reviewed and may be extended for a further three years, and are terminable on three 
months’ notice by either party. In accordance with the Code, all directors submit themselves for annual  
re-election by shareholders at each AGM.

Effective dates of service contracts of the Executive Directors

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Present

20 Jan 2005

5 Mar 2007

Alan
Aubrey

Mike
Townend

Greg 
Smith

David 
Baynes

2 Jun 2011

20 Mar 2014

Effective dates of letters of appointment of the Non-executive Directors

Jonathan
Brooks

Doug           
Liversidge

Lynn
Gladden

Mike
Humphrey

Elaine
Sullivan

31 Aug 2011

20 Mar 2014

26 Mar 2014

14 October 2011

24 March 20151

30 Jul 2015

1. 

 This letter of appointment appointed Mr Humphrey as Chairman and replaced his existing Non-executive Director letter of appointment whose 
effective date was 14 October 2011.

Consideration by the Directors of matters relating to  
directors’ remuneration

The full terms of reference of the Committee, which 
are reviewed annually, are available on the Group’s 
website at www.ipgroupplc.com. In summary, the 
Remuneration Committee has specific responsibility 
for advising the Group’s Board on the remuneration 
and other benefits of executive directors, an overall 
policy in respect of remuneration of other employees 

of the Group and establishing the Group’s policy with 
respect to employee incentivisation schemes. 

The Remuneration Committee currently comprises 
the following independent non-executive directors 
whose backgrounds and experience are summarised 
on pages 52 and 53:

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 
Our Governance Committee Reports

Jonathan Brooks (Chair) 
Mike Humphrey  
Doug Liversidge  
Lynn Gladden  
Elaine Sullivan 

Committee meetings are administered and 
minuted by the Company Secretary. In addition, 
the Committee received assistance from the HR 
Director, CFO, CEO and COO who attend meetings by 
invitation, except when matters relating to their own 
remuneration are being discussed.

During the year, the key activities carried out by the 
Committee were:

 • Consideration of the Group’s overall remuneration 
philosophy to ensure it continues to promote the 
Group’s strategy, including the blend of fixed and 
short and longer-term variable pay.

 • Consideration of the skills and experience of 
the Executive Directors and carrying out of 
benchmarking in order to determine base salaries 
and total remuneration opportunity for the 
period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 and giving 
further consideration to base salaries and total 
remuneration opportunity with effect from  
1 April 2017.

 • Oversight of implementation of LTICS for the 
Group’s non-director employees including 
structure and key terms

 • Extensive consultation with the Group’s major 

shareholders and proxy voting advisory firms in 
connection with the development and finalisation 
of the above matters.

 • Review of the Group’s approach to non-director 

remuneration including base salaries and incentive 
scheme targets and pay-outs.

 • Consideration of LTIP awards and vesting targets 
for 2016 and 2017 awards and outturns for the 
2013 awards.

 • Consideration of AIS awards and vesting targets 
for 2016 and 2017 as well as outturns for 2016.

 • Review and approval of the Group’s updated 

Remuneration Policy.

 • Approval of the Group’s DRR.
External advisers
The Remuneration Committee is authorised, if it 
wishes, to seek independent specialist services to 
provide information and advice on remuneration at 
the Company’s expense, including attendance at 
Committee meetings.

During the year the Remuneration Committee 
continued its review of executive remuneration and 
took into consideration professional advice from 
Deloitte LLP in respect of the development of the 
Group’s Remuneration Policy and its application, and 
reporting under the revised Directors’ Remuneration 
Reporting Regulations. Deloitte is a founding member 
of the Remuneration Consultants Group and adheres 
to its Code in relation to executive remuneration 
consulting in the UK. Fees paid to Deloitte LLP in 
connection with advice to the Committee in 2016 
were £8,150. Deloitte LLP also provided advice to 
the Group in 2016 in connection with internal and 
external assessments of the effectiveness of the 
operation of its Board. In addition, the Committee 
took advice from MM&K Limited in connection with 
the introduction and structuring of the LTICS. Fees 
paid to MM&K in relation to 2016 were £110,115.

Statement of shareholder voting
The table below sets out the proxy results of the votes on the Group’s Remuneration Report at the Group’s 
2016 AGM.

Votes for

Votes against

Number

Remuneration Report

477,645,118

Remuneration Policy

477,647,791

% of
votes cast

99.95

99.95

Number

179,199

207,802

% of 
votes cast

Total votes 
cast

0.04

477,849,407

0.04

477,880,683

Votes 
withheld

713,757

682,481

Remuneration disclosure
This report complies with the requirements of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups 
Regulations 2008 as amended in 2013, the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code (September 2012) 
and the Listing Rules.

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87

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comReport of the Audit & Risk Committee

2016 represented the first full year as an 
Audit and Risk Committee, with a greater 
emphasis being placed on the Group’s 
evolving risk management framework for 
at least two of its four meetings 
Jonathan Brooks Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee

Audit and Risk Committee (“ARC” or 
the “Committee”) responsibilities
The Committee monitors the integrity of the financial 
statements of the Group, and reviews all proposed 
annual and half-yearly results announcements 
to be made by the Group with consideration 
being given to any significant financial reporting 
judgements contained in them. The Committee 
also advises the Board on whether it believes the 
annual report and accounts, taken as a whole, is 
fair, balanced and understandable and provides the 
information necessary for shareholders to assess 
the Company’s performance, business model and 
strategy. The Committee also considers internal 
controls, compliance with legal requirements, 
accounting standards and the Listing, Disclosure 
and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct 
Authority, and also reviews any proposed change 
in accounting policies and any recommendations 
from the Group’s Auditor regarding improvements 
to internal controls and the adequacy of resources 
within the Group’s finance function. Finally, the 
Committee takes responsibility on behalf of the Board 
for the review of risk management and controls within 
the Group, as well as conducting an annual robust 
assessment of these.

A full copy of the Committee’s Terms of Reference  
is available from the Company’s website at  
www.ipgroupplc.com.

Committee membership
The Committee comprises four independent non-
executive directors, with myself as Chair. As the Chair 
of the Committee, I am deemed by the Board to 
have recent and relevant financial experience, being 
a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management 
Accountants and having held senior financial 
positions in my career.

The Committee met four times during the year, with 
all meetings attended by four independent Non-
executive Directors. The members of the Committee 
for the entire year were Professor Lynn Gladden,  
Dr Elaine Sullivan and Doug Liversidge with myself  
as Chair. 

The Group’s Chairman, Chief Financial Officer, Group 
Financial Controller, and the external auditor were 
also invited to attend all of the meetings and did so. 
At the end of each of the meetings, the Committee 
met with the auditor without any members of the 
executive management team being present. I also met 
the external auditor away from the Group’s offices. 

Activities during the year
The main activities of the Committee during 2016 
can be seen by referring to the summary agenda 
items in the table overleaf. During 2016 this was 
clearly divided between matters of financial oversight 
and those concerned with the management of risk, 
reflecting the new name for the Committee. The 
main theme of 2016 was the development of a much 
greater emphasis on risk management, process and 
controls as well as the establishment of a Risk Council 
to ensure a greater assurance over the robustness 
of process and effectiveness of internal control, with 
a role to formalise and embed established practices 
consistently across the Group.

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Valuation of assets and liabilities
This remains the key audit risk for the Group and at 
each reporting event, the Audit & Risk Committee 
discusses with management and the auditor the 
approach that has been taken in assessing all key 
estimates. 

The most material area of judgement in the financial 
statements relates to the valuation of the unquoted 
equity investments, which at year end had a 
carrying value of £614.0m. The Committee satisfied 
itself that the portfolio valuations were materially 
correct after considering findings from the year end 
valuations meeting, which was attended by KPMG, 
receiving periodic presentational updates from the 

sector heads and business building team members, 
receiving regular written reports on the Group’s 
portfolio companies, and reviewing a summary 
prepared by KPMG of external investor participation 
in portfolio company financing rounds to validate the 
independence of the pricing of such rounds.

At year end the fair value of the Group’s intangible 
assets was £5.1m and goodwill was £57.1m. The 
majority of these balances arose from the acquisition 
of Fusion IP plc in 2014. The goodwill balance is 
tested annually for impairment. The intangible 
assets are reviewed for impairment indicators and 
impairment tests are performed if any indicators are 
noted. 

Summary agendas for the Audit & Risk Committee meetings in 2016

Primarily audit-focused business

Primarily risk-focused business

February 2016

 • Full year financial statements and 

 • Principal risks, risk appetite and 

discussions with auditor

controls

 • Fair, balanced and understandable 

 • Review and division of annual agenda 

review of Annual Report

of Committee

 • Audit committee effectiveness review

 • Long term viability statement

 • Going concern and long-term viability 
review for 2016 financial statements

 • Consideration of the need for a formal 

internal audit function

May 2016

 • Planning of internal audit projects

 • Review of risk register

 • Half year results planning 

 • Review of investment committee 

 • Auditor effectiveness review

controls

 • MLRO/Compliance officer reports on 

regulated businesses

 • External review of FCA-authorised 

business controls

 • Review of Group Treasury Policy

 • Cyber security 

 • Anti-bribery policy review

July 2016

 • Half year financial statements and 

 • Review of D&O and PI insurances

review with auditor

 • Review of Market Abuse Regime 

 • Non-audit services policy

processes and controls

December 2016

 • Review of auditor’s 2016 audit planning 

 • Proposals to establish an executive Risk 

document

Council

 • Audit committee’s terms of reference; 

 • Review of risk register including 

annual review

 • Annual review of Committee rolling 

identification of strategic and principal 
risks 

agenda

 • Risk & control assessment

 • Whistleblowing policy; annual review of 

process

 • Related party transaction policy review

 • Cyber security update

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comReport of the Audit and Risk Committee CONTINUED

each of a series of forecast scenarios was assessed. 
In the scenario with significant downside, where no 
further funding was available to the Group for the 
next three years, together with a halving in value 
of the entire portfolio, assuming a corresponding 
reduction in overheads, the business remained viable 
for three years, but would be extremely challenged 
beyond that. In the light of this, both the Committee 
and the wider Board came to the conclusion that 
the viability period should not be greater than three 
years. 

Risk and internal controls
The key elements of the Group’s internal control 
framework and procedures are set out on pages 38 
and 39. The principal risks the Group faces are set 
out on pages 40 to 45. During the year, the Audit 
Committee devoted part of each meeting to items 
concerning risk and its management and as in prior 
years the Board devoted part of its annual strategy 
off-site meeting had a lengthy assessment of risk 
and its risk appetite towards its strategic priorities 
at the annual strategy off-site meeting in October. 
During that meeting, a heat map of risks assessed 
in 2016 was compared to a similar exercise for 2015 
to see what had changed. Increased competition, an 
equity market downturn, insufficient returns from 
investments, excessive portfolio concentration and 
difficulty scaling the university partnership model 
were all identified as increasing in risk since 2015 and 
mitigation plans to cope with each of these as well as 
with all of the other identified risks were discussed in 
the December Audit and Risk Committee. Managing 
the university partnership model was seen as 
becoming potentially more difficult as it expands and 
the university partnership model was reviewed at the 
December meeting. The Committee also discussed 
the impact of the potential departure of the UK from 
the European Union following the Referendum on 
June 23rd (“Brexit”). While Brexit was not considered 
to have much direct impact on the business per se, 
it was recognised that its impact on the university 
sector could ultimately adversely affect the number 
of new investments available for the Group.

Regulatory Compliance
Ensuring compliance for FCA regulated businesses 
also represents an important control risk from the 
perspective of the ARC. Ongoing internal reviews 
are conducted through the use of a compliance 
monitoring programme and an annual external 
evaluation is also conducted by a specialist firm. 
During the review in 2016, no specific issues were 
identified.

Review of Annual Report and 
Accounts and Half-yearly Report 
The Committee carried out a thorough review of 
the Group’s 2016 Annual Report and Accounts 
and its 2016 Half-yearly Report resulting in the 
recommendation of both for approval by the Board. 
In carrying out its review, the Committee gave 
particular consideration to whether the Annual 
Report, taken as a whole, was fair, balanced and 
understandable, concluding that it was. It did this 
primarily through consideration of the reporting 
of the Group’s business model and strategy, the 
competitive landscape in which it operates, the 
significant risks it faces, the progress made against 
its strategic objectives and the progress made by, 
and changes in fair value of, its portfolio companies 
during the year.

Going Concern  
and Long Term Viability
Annually, the Committee considers the going 
concern principle on which the financial statements 
are prepared and also considers and approves 
the impairment review of goodwill prepared by 
management. As a business which seeks to establish 
and invest in new ventures as well as support existing 
investments with further capital, the business model 
is currently inherently cash-consuming. With a 
closing cash balance in 2016 of £112.3m the Group 
has sufficient cash reserves to continue to provide 
capital to its existing portfolio and to create and fund 
new businesses at a similar rate to previous years for 
approximately two years assuming broadly similar 
levels of net operating expenditure and portfolio 
realisations. 

The Committee, as in previous years, decided that the 
long term viability of the Group remained principally 
related to five factors. These included changes in the 
competitive landscape, the ability to raise further 
capital, internationalisation of the business, scaling 
of the business and different outcomes following an 
Oxford Nanopore ‘exit’ event. The impact of these on 

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up a working group to ensure compliance with the 
General Data Protection Regulation which is expected 
to come into force in May 2018, with PwC undertaking 
a third party benchmarking exercise to assist in this 
process. 

Internal audit
The Group does not maintain a separate internal 
audit function. This is principally due to the size 
of the Group where close control over operations 
is exercised by a small number of executives. The 
Audit Committee currently considers the outsourced 
provision of internal audit work as both more efficient 
and cost-effective than having its own central internal 
audit team. However, the Audit Committee does 
review the need to have its own separate internal 
audit function each year. 

The Audit Committee has developed a framework to 
gain assurance over the system of internal financial 
and operational controls. This comprises: 

 • A risk assessment performed by operational 

management and the Board to identify key areas 
for assurance. 

 • An annual assessment by the Audit Committee 
of the whole system of internal financial and 
operational controls.

During 2016 and early 2017, the principal internal 
audit project undertaken was a review of the Group’s 
business in the US. The Committee engaged a third 
party professional services firm, PwC, to examine 
the risk profile of the US business, ensure that it was 
compliant with all local laws and regulations and 
had appropriate financial controls and operational 
systems. Their full report was not completed before 
the end of 2016 but the Committee was given a final 
report in early 2017 that PwC considered the systems 
and processes to be at a higher level than they might 
have expected and that overall the business was 
being operated within Group policies. 

One important change in the management of risk was 
the decision in 2016 to establish a Risk Council, whose 
permanent members would be the Chief Financial 
Officer, Company Secretary and Group Financial 
Controller, with other executives and management 
from across the business attending periodically 
during the year as necessary. The purpose of the 
Risk Council is to further formalise management’s 
processes for identifying group-wide risks, the 
controls in place to mitigate such risks and to assess 
the design and effectiveness of such internal controls, 
with one of its primary roles being to disseminate and 
embed established practices consistently across the 
Group. The Risk Council will meet at least four times 
a year and reports to the Executive Committee and 
the ARC.

Whistleblowing Policy
There is a formal whistleblowing policy which has 
been communicated to employees. This policy 
provides information on the process to follow in the 
event that any employee feels it is appropriate to 
make a disclosure. The Audit Committee is satisfied 
that the policy provides an adequate basis for 
employees to make representations in confidence 
to the Group and for appropriate and proportionate 
investigations.

Cyber Security
The Group continued to invest more time and effort 
in improving its cyber security in 2016 and recognises 
the increasing importance of this subject with the 
Group’s expansion into the USA in recent years, as 
well as numerous well-publicised cyber-security 
breaches suffered by other businesses. Cyber security 
is now a standard agenda item for the Committee 
and is discussed at least twice a year. During 2016, 
there were a number of new initiatives: these included 
the tightening up administration rights on software, 
completing the Windows 10 upgrade across the 
whole Group, improving mobile device management 
security, introducing further cyber-monitoring 
software and improving the Group’s back-up IT 
strategy with associated user training. An external 
review of the Group’s cybersecurity practices and 
procedures was carried out by Nettitude Limited 
who concluded that “the technical and procedural 
aspects of security in IP Group is generally good, 
with many examples of good practice” although 
highlighted areas “where further improvements 
may be made” and the Group has or is currently 
addressing these areas. In addition, the Group worked 
towards certification under the UK Government’s 
cyber essentials self-certification scheme and also set 

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Auditor Independence
A formal statement of independence is received from 
the auditor each year and the Board and the Audit 
Committee are satisfied that the independence of the 
auditor has been maintained. 

Auditor Effectiveness
The Committee will complete its formal assessment 
of the effectiveness of the Group’s external auditor 
following the completion of the 2016 audit cycle and 
will report on this assessment in the 2017 annual 
report. With respect to the 2015 audit, the Committee 
formally considered this at its May 2016 meeting and, 
as in the previous year, decided that the substantive 
and detailed approach taken by the auditor, Jon Mills 
of KPMG, was entirely appropriate and effective. 
As in the previous year, the vast majority of the 
Group’s assets were reviewed as part of the audit, 
representing 89% of unquoted and 100% of quoted, 
and there was particular emphasis on the valuation of 
Oxford Nanopore which continued to represent such 
an important part of the Group’s unquoted portfolio. 
Specialist corporate finance staff were used for some 
of the valuation work and overall, the auditor’s risk-
based approach drew on both their knowledge of 
the business and the wider economic and business 
environment. 

I will be available at the AGM to answer any questions 
about the Committee’s work.

Jonathan Brooks 
Chairman of the Audit Committee 
6 March 2017

External audit
The effectiveness of the external audit process is 
dependent on appropriate risk identification. In 
December, the Committee discussed the Auditor’s 
audit plan for 2016. This included a summary of 
the proposed audit scope and a summary of what 
the Auditor considered to be the most significant 
financial reporting risks facing the Group together 
with the Auditor’s proposed audit approach to 
these significant risk areas. The main areas of audit 
focus for the year were the valuation of investments 
in portfolio companies, with particular focus on 
unquoted companies, including Oxford Nanopore 
Technologies Limited, and the valuation of goodwill.

Appointment and Independence
The Audit Committee advises the Board on the 
appointment of the external auditor and on its 
remuneration both for audit and non-audit work 
and discusses the nature, scope and results of the 
audit with the external auditor. The Committee 
keeps under review the cost-effectiveness and the 
independence and objectivity of the external auditor. 
Controls in place to ensure this include monitoring 
the independence and effectiveness of the audit, 
implementing a policy on the engagement of the 
external auditor to supply non-audit services, and 
a review of the scope of the audit and fee and 
performance of the external auditor.

Non-Audit Work
The Audit Committee approves all fees paid to the 
auditor for non-audit work. In 2016 the Group’s 
Auditor, KPMG LLP carried out a non-audit 
engagement to perform Agreed Upon Procedures to 
validate the Group’s gross investment track record 
since inception. Given the natural overlap between 
this work and the financial audit of the group’s results, 
the Committee judged KPMG the most effective party 
to perform this work. In other matters, the Committee 
prefers to engage other firms to perform consulting 
engagements to ensure that the independence of the 
Auditor is not compromised. An analysis of audit and 
non-audit fees is provided in note 6 to the financial 
statements on page 118. 

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Report of the Directors
The Directors present their report together with the 
audited financial statements for IP Group plc and its 
subsidiaries for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Corporate governance statement
Information that fulfils the requirements of the 
corporate governance statement can be found in the 
Corporate Governance Statement on pages 54 to 
68 and is incorporated into this Directors’ report by 
reference.

Results and dividends 
During the period, the Group made an overall loss 
after taxation for the year ended 31 December 2016 
of £14.8m (2015: £75.1m profit). The directors do not 
recommend the payment of a dividend (2015: £nil). 

Directors
The names of directors who currently hold office or 
did so during 2016 are as follows:

Executive Directors
Alan Aubrey 
Mike Townend 
Greg Smith 
David Baynes

Non-executive Directors
Mike Humphrey (Chairman) 
Jonathan Brooks 
Doug Liversidge 
Prof Lynn Gladden 
Dr Elaine Sullivan 

Details of the interests of directors in the share 
capital of the Company are set out in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report on page 81.

Principal risks and uncertainties and 
financial instruments 
The Group through its operations is exposed to 
a number of risks. The Group’s risk management 
objectives and policies are described on pages 38 to 
45 and in the Corporate Governance report on page 
67. Further information on the Group’s financial risk 
management objectives and policies, including those 
in relation to credit risk, liquidity risk and market risk, 
is provided in note 2 to the consolidated financial 
statements, along with further information on the 
Group’s use of financial instruments.

Our Governance Other Statutory

Significant agreements
The Group has entered into various agreements to 
form partnerships with 14 UK universities and five US 
universities. In addition, the Group has entered into 
agreements to act as general partner and investment 
manager to three limited partnerships. Further details 
can be found in the strategic report and in the notes 
to the financial statements.

Share capital and related matters
Details of the structure of the Company’s share 
capital and the rights attaching to the Company’s 
shares are set out in note 19 to the consolidated 
financial statements. There are no specific restrictions 
on the size of a holding or on the transfer of shares, 
which are both governed by the general provisions of 
the Company’s Articles of Association (the “Articles”) 
and prevailing legislation.

At the last Annual General Meeting of the Company 
held on 12 May 2016 (the “2016 AGM”), authority 
was given to the Directors pursuant to the relevant 
provisions of the Companies Act 2006 to allot shares 
and grant rights over securities in the Company up to 
a maximum amount equivalent to approximately one-
third of the issued ordinary share capital on  
8 April 2016 at any time up to the earlier of the 
conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting 
(“AGM”) of the Company and 1 August 2017. In 
addition, at the 2016 AGM, the Directors were also 
given authority effective for the same period as 
the aforementioned authority to allot shares and 
grant rights over securities in the Company up to 
a maximum of approximately two-thirds of the 
total ordinary share capital in issue on 8 April 2016 
in connection with an offer by way of a fully pre-
emptive rights issue. The Directors propose to renew 
both of these authorities at the Company’s next AGM 
to be held on 10 May 2017. The authorities being 
sought are in accordance with guidance issued by the 
Investment Association.

A further special resolution passed at the 2016 AGM 
granted authority to the Directors to allot equity 
securities in the Company for cash, without regard 
to the pre-emption provisions of the Companies Act 
2006, both: (i) up to a maximum of approximately 
two-thirds of the total ordinary share capital in 
issue on 8 April 2016 in connection with a fully pre-
emptive rights issue; and (ii) up to a maximum of 
approximately 5% of the aggregate nominal value 
of the shares in issue on 8 April 2016, each authority 
exercisable at any time up to the earlier of the 
conclusion of the next AGM of the Company and 

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1 August 2017. These authorities have not been used 
during the year. The Directors will seek to renew these 
authorities for a similar period at the next AGM to be 
held on 10 May 2017.

Under Part 18, Chapter 5 of the Companies Act 2006, 
the Company has the power to purchase its own 
shares. At the 2016 AGM, a special resolution was 
passed which granted the Directors authority to make 
market purchases of the Company’s shares pursuant 
to these provisions of the Companies Act 2006 up to 
a maximum of approximately 10% of the Company’s 
issued share capital on 8 April 2016 provided that the 
authority granted set a minimum and maximum price 
at which purchases can be made and is exercisable 
at any time up to the earlier of the conclusion of the 
next AGM and 1 August 2017. This authority has not 
been used during the year. The Directors will seek to 
renew the authority within similar parameters and for 
a similar period at the next AGM to be held on  
10 May 2017.

Articles of Association
The Company’s Articles may be amended by a special 
resolution of the shareholders.

Substantial shareholders 
As at 3 March 2017, the Company had been advised 
of the following shareholders with interests of 3% 
or more in its ordinary share capital. Other than as 
shown, so far as the Company (and its Directors) 
are aware, no other person holds or is beneficially 
interested in a disclosable interest in the Company.

Shareholder

Invesco Asset Management Limited  

Woodford Investment Management LLP 

Lansdowne 

Bailie Gifford

Sand Aire Limited

Oppenheimer Funds Inc. (Massachusetts 
Mutual Life Insurance Company)

%

25.4

14.2

12.2

8.8

5.1

3.7

Political donations 
The Group did not make any political donations 
during 2016.

Corporate and social responsibility

Details on the Group’s policies, activities and aims 
with regard to its corporate and social responsibilities, 
including details of its greenhouse gas emissions, are 
included in the Sustainability section on pages 46  
to 49.

Directors’ indemnity  
and liability insurance
During the year, the Company has maintained liability 
insurance in respect of its Directors. Subject to the 
provisions of the Companies Act 2006, the Articles 
provide that to the extent that the proceeds of any 
liability insurance are insufficient to meet any liability 
in full, every Director is entitled to be indemnified out 
of the funds of the Company against any liabilities 
incurred in the execution or discharge of his or her 
powers or duties. A copy of the indemnity is available 
for inspection as required by the Companies Act 
2006.

Regulation
Top Technology Ventures Limited, a 100%-owned 
subsidiary of the Company, is authorised and 
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under 
the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. 

Post balance sheet events
Material events occurring since the balance sheet 
date are disclosed in the Strategic Report and in note 
26 to the Group’s financial statements.

Disclosure of information to auditor 
Each of the persons who is a Director at the date of 
approval of this Annual Report confirms that:

 • so far as the Director is aware, there is no relevant 
audit information of which the Company’s Auditor 
is unaware; and

 •

the Director has taken all steps that he/she 
ought to have taken as a Director in order to 
make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the Company’s 
Auditor is aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted 
in accordance with the provisions of Section 418 of 
the Companies Act 2006.

Appointment of auditor 
A resolution to reappoint KPMG LLP, together  
with a resolution to authorise the Directors to 
determine their remuneration, will be proposed at the 
AGM to be held on 10 May 2017. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Angela Leach 
Company Secretary
6 March 2017

94

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Governance Other Statutory

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities

In respect of the Annual Report and the Financial 
Statements

The directors are responsible for preparing the 
Annual Report and the group and parent company 
financial statements in accordance with applicable 
law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare 
group and parent company financial statements 
for each financial year. Under that law they are 
required to prepare the group financial statements 
in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU and 
applicable law and have elected to prepare the parent 
company financial statements in accordance with UK 
Accounting Standards.

Under company law the directors must not approve 
the financial statements unless they are satisfied 
that they give a true and fair view of the state of 
affairs of the group and parent company and of their 
profit or loss for that period. In preparing each of the 
group and parent company financial statements, the 
directors are required to:

 • select suitable accounting policies and then apply 

them consistently;

 • make judgements and estimates that are 

reasonable and prudent;

 •

 •

for the group financial statements, state whether 
they have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs 
as adopted by the EU;

for the parent company financial statements, state 
whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have 
been followed, subject to any

 • material departures disclosed and explained in the 

parent company financial statements; and

 • prepare the financial statements on the going 

Under applicable law and regulations, the directors 
are also responsible for preparing a Strategic Report, 
Directors’ Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report 
and Corporate Governance Statement that complies 
with that law and those regulations.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance 
and integrity of the corporate and financial 
information included on the Group’s website. 
Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and 
dissemination of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions.

Responsibility statement of the 
Directors in respect of the annual 
financial report
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

 •

the financial statements, prepared in accordance 
with the applicable set of accounting standards, 
give a true and fair view of the

 • assets, liabilities, financial position and profit 
or loss of the company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and

 •

the Directors’ Report includes a fair review of the 
development and performance of the business and 
the position of the issuer and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a whole, 
together with a description of the principal risks 
and uncertainties that they face.

We consider the annual report and accounts, taken 
as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary for shareholders 
to assess the group’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume 
that the group and the parent company will 
continue in business.

Mike Humphrey
Chairman 
6 March 2017

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show 
and explain the parent company’s transactions 
and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time 
the financial position of the parent company and 
enable them to ensure that its financial statements 
comply with the Companies Act 2006. They have 
general responsibility for taking such steps as are 
reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of 
the group and to prevent and detect fraud and other 
irregularities.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

95

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comDeliver

To deliver attractive financial  
returns from our assets

96

25286-04    Proof 6  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

Tracsis
The Group was a founder shareholder in Tracsis, which 
was spun out of the University of Leeds in 2004 and, 
following eight successful acquisitions, is now a profitable 
business with turnover in excess of £30m and employing 
more than 600 people. The sale of the Group’s remaining 
holding in March 2016 resulted in net cash proceeds of 
£13.1m, bringing total proceeds from Tracsis to date to 
£14.3m and representing a multiple of approximately  
38 times the Group’s investment of £0.4m.

Our Financials

Independent auditor’s report 
Group Primary Statements 
Consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income 
Consolidated statement of  
financial position 
Consolidated statement  
of cash flows 
Consolidated statement of  
changes in equity 
Group Notes
Notes to the consolidated  
financial statements 
Company Statements 
Company balance sheet 
Statement of changes in equity 
Notes to the Company 
financial statements 
Company information 

98 

101

102

103

104

105

138
139

140
IBC

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

97

Independent Auditor’s Report 
to the Members of IP Group plc only 

Opinions and conclusions arising 
from our audit
1 Our opinion on the financial statements is 
unmodified 
We have audited the financial statements of IP 
Group plc for the year ended 31 December 2016 
which comprise the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income, the Group Consolidated 
statement of financial position, the consolidated 
statement of cash flows, the consolidated statement 
of changes in equity, the Company balance sheet and 
the related notes. In our opinion: 

 •

 •

 •

 •

the financial statements give a true and fair view 
of the state of the group’s and of the parent 
company’s affairs as at 31 December 2016 and of 
the group’s loss for the year then ended; 

the Group financial statements have been properly 
prepared in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards as adopted by the European 
Union; 

the parent company financial statements have 
been properly prepared in accordance with UK 
Accounting Standards, including FRS 101 Reduced 
Disclosure Framework; and

the financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with the requirements of the 
Companies Act 2006; and, as regards the 
group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS 
Regulation. 

2 Our assessment of risks of material 
misstatement
In arriving at our audit opinion above on the financial 
statements the risks of material misstatement, in 
decreasing order of audit significance, that had 
the greatest effect on our audit were as follows 
(unchanged from 2015):

Valuation of unquoted equity investments (£433.8m) 
(2015: £341.8) 

Refer to page 88 (Audit and Risk Committee Report), 
page 110 (accounting policy) and pages 123 to 125 
(financial disclosures).

 • The risk – 56.4% of the company’s total assets 

(by value) is held in investments where no quoted 
market price is available. Unquoted investments 
are measured at fair value, which is established in 
accordance with the International Private Equity 
and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines by using 
measurements of value such as prices of recent 
investment. Due to the relatively low number of 

 •

investors partaking in funding rounds, there is a 
risk that recent investments on which fair value is 
based are not sufficiently at arm’s length to ensure 
an independent market valuation representative 
of fair value. Furthermore, due to the nature of the 
Group’s investment portfolio, funding rounds can 
be more than 12 months apart. Whether it remains 
appropriate to use the price of the recent funding 
rounds depends on the specific circumstances 
of the investment, the stability of the external 
environment and the period since the last funding 
round occurred. There is therefore a significant 
risk over the valuation and inappropriate fair value 
hierarchy disclosure of these investments and this 
is one of the key judgemental areas that our audit 
focused on.

 • Our response – In this area our audit procedures 

included:

 — For a selection of investments, assessing whether 
the price of recent investment is an appropriate 
basis for the measurement of the fair value at 
the time, by evaluating the independence of the 
funding rounds on which this valuation is based. 
This assessment was based on whether external 
investors were allowed to take up significant 
investments at the same rates and the number 
of external investors included within the funding 
round. For a sample of external investors we 
review the directors and key management of those 
investors for any potential overlap with IP Group. 

 — Conducting independent research into publicly 

available information including news websites and 
the company’s own website for indicators of fair 
value changes since the last funding round was 
set, considering the valuation techniques applied 
against IPEV guidelines and agreeing key elements 
to appropriate support including contractual 
agreements.

 — Attending the year-end valuation meetings 

with the Directors and senior finance personnel 
to assess their discussion and review of the 
investment valuations. 

 — For investments valued based on a funding round 
aged greater than 12 months, seeking independent 
evidence to support the events since the most 
recent investment as communicated to us by 
IP Group’s business building team, for example 
external news sources, and critically assessing 
these events as potential indicators of fair value 
adjustment. We note an inherent judgement in 
the use of a 12-month threshold and we assess 
the reasonableness of this threshold for valuation 
purposes and for the related level 2 disclosures 
included in the financial statements. 

98

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Auditor’s Report

Carrying value of goodwill (£57.1m) (2015: £57.1) 

Refer to page 88 (Audit and Risk Committee Report), 
page 108 (accounting policy) and page 120 to 121 
(financial disclosures).

 • The risk – IP Group’s impairment review of goodwill 
involved the calculation of value-in-use through a 
discounted cash flow model and fair-value-less-
costs-to-sell, and comparison of these amounts 
to the carrying value of goodwill recognised in 
the accounts. The discounted cash flow model 
contained significant levels of judgement over the 
assumptions used including the discount rate and 
the assumptions to the cash flow forecasts which 
included the gains on future investments, the 
annual investment rate and the weighted average 
holding period of the Group’s investments. Due to 
the inherent uncertainty involved in forecasting 
and discounting future cash flows, which are 
included within the models used, and the irregular 
nature of the UK university spin-out company 
market, this is one of the key judgmental areas that 
our audit is concentrated on.

 • Our response – In this area our audit procedures 

included:

 — Critically assessing the principles and integrity of 
the value in use discounted cash flow model.

 — Critically assessing the assumptions around IPO 

We reported to the Audit and Risk Committee any 
corrected or uncorrected identified misstatements 
relating to the statement of financial position 
exceeding £400,000 (2015: £409,000), in addition 
to other identified misstatements that warranted 
reporting on qualitative grounds. 

Of the Group’s 33 components (2015: 26), the 
Group audit team subjected 8 (2015:9) to audits to 
component materiality for Group audit purposes. Due 
to nature of the Group’s operations and the audit 
approach, aggregation risk was deemed to be low 
and component materiality was set at £7.9m (2015: 
£8.2m). These 8 entities account for 89.3% of the 
Group’s revenue and return (2015: 99.5%), 78.6% of 
total profits and losses that made up the Group’s 
profit before tax (2015: 98.3%) and 97.4% of the 
Group’s total assets (2015: 98.1%). 

For the remaining components, we performed 
specified risk-focused audit procedures on specific 
balances and we performed analysis at an aggregated 
group level to re-examine our assessment that there 
were no significant risks of material misstatement 
within these.

4 Our opinion on other matters prescribed 
by the Companies Act 2006 is unmodified 
In our opinion:

exit valuations and benchmarking the assumptions 
to historical exit valuations achieved. We assessed 
the reasonableness of the annual investment rate 
by comparing this to both historical information 
and Company cash flow forecasts for the 
upcoming year. We also assessed the weighted 
average holding period for reasonableness by 
re-calculating the holding period of previously 
disposed investments, those being an indicator of 
future holding periods.

 •

 •

 •

 — Considering the sensitivity of the valuation model 

to the key assumptions above through a sensitivity 
analysis that considered the impact of each 
assumption on the value in use.

 — Assessing whether the Group’s disclosures of 

the sensitivity of the outcome of the impairment 
reviews to changes in key assumptions

3 Our application of materiality and an 
overview of the scope of our audit
The materiality for the Group financial statements as 
a whole was set at £8m (2015: £8.17m), determined 
with reference to a benchmark of Group total assets, 
of which it represents 1% (2015: 1%). 

the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
to be audited has been properly prepared in 
accordance with the Companies Act 2006;

the information given in the Strategic Report 
and the Directors’ Report for the financial year is 
consistent with the financial statements; and 

the information given in the Corporate Governance 
Statement set out on pages 54 to 68 with respect 
to internal control and risk management systems in 
relation to financial reporting processes and about 
share capital structures (“the specified Corporate 
Governance information”) is consistent with the 
financial statements. 

Based solely on the work required to be undertaken 
in the course of the audit of the financial statements 
and from reading the Strategic Report, the Directors’ 
Report and the Corporate Governance Statement:

 • we have not identified material misstatements in 

the Strategic Report, the Directors’ Report, or the 
specified Corporate Governance information; 

 •

in our opinion, the Strategic Report and the 
Directors’ Report have been prepared in 
accordance with the Companies Act 2006; and

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

99

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comIndependent Auditor’s Report CONTINUED 
to the Members of IP Group plc only 

 •

in our opinion, the Corporate Governance 
Statement has been prepared in accordance 
with rules 7.2.2, 7.2.3, 7.2.5, 7.2.6 and 7.2.7 of the 
Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the 
Financial Conduct Authority.

5 We have nothing to report on the 
disclosures of principal risks
Based on the knowledge we acquired during our 
audit, we have nothing material to add or draw 
attention to in relation to: 

 •

the directors’ long term viability statement on 
page 45, concerning the principal risks, their 
management, and, based on that, the directors’ 
assessment and expectations of the group’s 
continuing in operation over the 3 years to 2019; or 

 •

the disclosures in note 1 of the financial statements 
concerning the use of the going concern basis of 
accounting. 

6 We have nothing to report in respect of 
the matters on which we are required to 
report by exception 
Under ISAs (UK and Ireland) we are required to report 
to you if, based on the knowledge we acquired during 
our audit, we have identified other information in the 
annual report that contains a material inconsistency 
with either that knowledge or the financial 
statements, a material misstatement of fact, or that is 
otherwise misleading. 

In particular, we are required to report to you if: 

 • we have identified material inconsistencies 

between the knowledge we acquired during 
our audit and the directors’ statement that they 
consider that the annual report and financial 
statements taken as a whole is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information 
necessary for shareholders to assess the group’s 
position and performance, business model and 
strategy; or

 •

the Report of the Audit and Risk Committee does 
not appropriately address matters communicated 
by us to the audit committee.

Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to 
report to you if, in our opinion: 

 • adequate accounting records have not been kept 
by the parent company, or returns adequate for 
our audit have not been received from branches 
not visited by us; or 

 •

the parent company financial statements and the 
part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be 
audited are not in agreement with the accounting 
records and returns; or 

 • certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration 

specified by law are not made; or 

 • we have not received all the information and 
explanations we require for our audit; or 

 • a Corporate Governance Statement has not been 

prepared by the company.

Under the Listing Rules we are required to review: 

 •

 •

the directors’ statements, set out on pages 68 and 
45, in relation to going concern and longer-term 
viability; and 

the part of the Corporate Governance Statement 
on pages 54 to 68 relating to the company’s 
compliance with the eleven provisions of the 2014 
UK Corporate Governance Code specified for our 
review.

We have nothing to report in respect of the above 
responsibilities. 

Scope and responsibilities
As explained more fully in the Directors’ 
Responsibilities Statement set out on page 95, the 
directors are responsible for the preparation of the 
financial statements and for being satisfied that they 
give a true and fair view. A description of the scope 
of an audit of financial statements is provided on the 
Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.
uk/auditscopeukprivate. This report is made solely 
to the company’s members as a body and is subject 
to important explanations and disclaimers regarding 
our responsibilities, published on our website at 
www.kpmg.com/uk/auditscopeukco2014a, which are 
incorporated into this report as if set out in full and 
should be read to provide an understanding of the 
purpose of this report, the work we have undertaken 
and the basis of our opinions.

Jonathan Mills  
(Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor
Chartered Accountants
15 Canada Square
London
E14 5GL

6 March 2017 

100

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Primary Statements

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 December 2016

Portfolio return and revenue

Change in fair value of equity and debt investments

Loss on disposal of equity investments

Change in fair value of limited and limited liability partnership interests

Change in fair value of contingent value right

Other portfolio income

Licensing income

Revenue from services and other income

Administrative expenses

Research and development costs

Share-based payment charge

Change in fair value of Oxford Equity Rights asset

Amortisation of intangible assets

Acquisition costs

Other administrative expenses

Operating (loss)/profit

Finance income – interest receivable

Finance costs – interest payable

(Loss)/profit before taxation

Taxation

(Loss)/profit for the year 

Other comprehensive income

Exchange differences on translating foreign operations

Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the period

Attributable to:

Equity holders of the parent

Non-controlling interest

Earnings per share

Basic (p)

Diluted (p)

Note

14

22

16

21

12

7

9

10

10

2016
£m

7.0

(0.5)

(0.3)

(1.4)

—

0.2

2.6

7.6

(1.0)

(1.5)

—

(5.6)

(0.4)

(14.5)

(23.0)

(15.4)

1.1

(0.5)

(14.8)

—

(14.8)

0.1

(14.7)

(13.5)

(1.2)

(14.7)

(2.39)

(2.39)

2015
£m

86.4

(0.2)

0.4

—

0.2

8.1

3.4

98.3

(2.0)

(1.5)

(1.3)

(6.0)

—

(13.7)

(24.5)

73.8

1.3

—

75.1

—

75.1

0.1

75.2

73.9

1.3

75.2

13.66

13.63

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

101

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comConsolidated statement of financial position
As at 31 December 2016

ASSETS

Non-current assets

Intangible assets:

 Goodwill

 Acquired intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Portfolio:

 Equity investments

 Debt investments

Limited and limited liability partnership interests

Contingent value rights

Total non-current assets

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Deposits

Cash and cash equivalents

Total current assets

Total assets

EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Equity attributable to owners of the parent

Called up share capital

Share premium account

Merger reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity attributable to equity holders

Non-controlling interest

Total equity

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Non-current liabilities

EIB debt facility

Loans from limited partners of consolidated funds

Total equity and liabilities

Registered number: 4204490 

Note

2016
£m

2015
£m

11

12

14

14

22

16

15

19

17

18

18

57.1

5.1

0.2

594.9

19.1

4.2

—

680.6

2.6

—

112.3

114.9

795.5

11.3

504.7

12.8

239.6

768.4

0.3

768.7

57.1

10.5

0.2

543.1

9.1

4.4

1.4

625.8

3.2

70.0

108.8

182.0

807.8

11.3

504.7

12.8

251.6

780.4

1.5

781.9

2.1

3.9

14.9

9.8

795.5

14.9

7.1

807.8

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements. The financial statements on pages 
101 to 137 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 6 March 2017 and were signed 
on its behalf by:

Greg Smith
Chief Financial Officer

Alan Aubrey
Chief Executive Officer

102

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Primary Statements

Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 December 2016

Operating activities

Operating (loss)/profit for the period

Adjusted for:

Note

2016
£m

(15.4)

Change in fair value of equity and debt investments

14

(7.0)

Change in fair value of limited and limited liability partnership interests

Change in fair value of contingent value right

Loss on disposal of equity investments

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Amortisation of intangible non-current assets

Change in fair value of Oxford equity rights asset

Fees settled in the form of equity

Share-based payment charge

Other portfolio income classified as investing activities cash flows

Changes in working capital

Decrease in trade and other receivables

(Decrease)/Increase in trade and other payables 

Increase in non-current liabilities

Net cash flow to deposits

Other operating cash flows

Net interest received

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities

Investing activities

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Purchase of equity and debt investments

Investment in limited and limited liability partnerships

Proceeds from sale of equity investments

Distributions from limited and limited liability partnerships

Other portfolio income

Net cash outflow from investing activities

Financing activities

Proceeds from the issue of share capital

Proceeds from drawdown of EIB facility

Net cash inflow from financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

12

14

18

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

2015
£m

73.8

(86.4)

(0.4)

—

0.2

0.1

6.0

1.3

(0.7)

1.5

(0.1)

2.2

1.9

2.2

(40.0)

0.7

(37.7)

—

(115.9)

—

0.6

0.6

0.1

0.3

1.4

0.5

0.1

5.6

—

(0.4)

1.5

—

0.2

(1.8)

2.7

70.0

0.9

58.6

(0.1)

(69.7)

(0.1)

14.7

—

—

(55.2)

(114.6)

—

—

—

3.4

108.8

0.1

112.3

178.8

14.9

193.7

41.4

67.3

0.1

108.8

103

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comConsolidated statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 December 2016

Attributable to equity holders of the parent

At 1 January 2015

Comprehensive income

Issue of equity

Equity-settled 
share-based payments

Share 
capital 
£m

9.6

—

1.7

—

Share 
premium(i) 

£m

327.6

—

177.1

—

At 1 January 2016

11.3

504.7

Comprehensive income

Equity-settled 
share-based payments

—

—

—

—

Merger 
reserve(ii) 
£m

12.8

—

—

—

12.8

—

—

Retained 
earnings(iii) 

£m

176.2

73.9

—

1.5

251.6

(13.5)

1.5

Total 
£m

526.2

73.9

178.8

1.5

780.4

(13.5)

1.5

Non-
controlling 

interest(iv) 

£m

—

1.3

0.2

—

1.5

(1.2)

—

Total 
equity 
£m

526.2

75.2

179.0

1.5

781.9

(14.7)

1.5

At 31 December 2016

11.3

504.7

12.8

239.6

768.4

0.3

768.7

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

i. 

Share premium — Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value, net of directly attributable issue costs.

 Merger reserve — Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value in relation to the qualifying acquisition of subsidiary 
undertakings.

 Retained earnings — Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income net of associated 
share-based payments credits.

 Non-controlling interest — Share of profits attributable to the Limited Partners of IP Venture Fund II LP – a consolidated fund which was created 
in May 2013, as well as the equity invested in partially-owned subsidiaries that is held by third parties.

104

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

1. Accounting Policies
Basis of preparation
The Annual Report and Accounts of IP Group plc (“IP Group” or the “Company”) and its subsidiary companies 
(together, the “Group”) are for the year ended 31 December 2016. The principal accounting policies adopted 
in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below. The policies have been consistently applied to 
all the years presented, unless otherwise stated. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards, International Accounting Standards and Interpretations 
(collectively “IFRS”) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) as adopted by the 
European Union (“adopted IFRSs”). 

The preparation of financial statements in compliance with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting 
estimates. It also requires Group management to exercise judgement in the most appropriate selection of 
the Group’s accounting policies. The areas where significant judgements and estimates have been made in 
preparing the financial statements and their effect are disclosed in note 3.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, as the directors are satisfied that the 
Group and parent Company have the resources to continue in business for the foreseeable future. In making 
this assessment, the directors have considered a wide range of information relating to present and future 
conditions, including future projections of profitability, cash flows and capital resources.

Changes in accounting policies
(i) New standards, interpretations and amendments effective from 1 January 2016

No new standards, interpretations and amendments effective for the first time from 1 January 2016 have had a 
material effect on the Group’s financial statements.

(ii) New standards, interpretations and amendments not yet effective

The following new standards, which have not been applied in these financial statements, will or may have an 
effect on the Group’s future financial statements:

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers: 

IFRS 15 was issued on 28 May 2014 and provides a single global standard on revenue recognition which aligns 
the IFRS and US GAAP guidance. It replaces existing revenue recognition guidance, including IAS 18 revenue, 
IAS 11 Construction Contracts and IFRIC 13 Customer Loyalty Programmes. The Group has assessed the 
potential impact on its consolidated financial statements resulting from the application of IFRS 15 and does 
not foresee any material effect when the Standard is applied. While early adoption is permitted, IFRS 15 has 
an effective date of 1 January 2018 with the year ending 31 December 2018 being the first annual financial 
statements to which the standard applies.

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments:

IFRS 9 will eventually replace IAS 39 in its entirety. The process has been divided into three main components, 
being classification and measurement; impairment; and hedge accounting. The Group provisionally assesses 
the potential effect to be immaterial given the majority of its financial assets are currently held at fair value 
through profit or loss. The current proposed effective date is 1 January 2018.

None of the other new standards, interpretations and amendments not yet effective are expected to have a 
material effect on the Group’s future financial statements.

Basis of consolidation
(i) Business Combinations

The Group accounts for business combinations using the acquisition method from the date that control is 
transferred to the Group (see (ii) Subsidiaries below). Both the identifiable net assets and the consideration 
transferred in the acquisition are measured at fair value at the date of acquisition and transaction costs are 
expensed as incurred. Goodwill arising on acquisitions is tested annually for impairment. In instances where 
the Group owns a non-controlling stake prior to acquisition the step acquisition method is applied, and any 
gain or losses on the fair value of the pre-acquisition holding is recognised in the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income.

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105

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

1. Accounting Policies continued
(ii) Subsidiaries

Where the Group has control over an entity, it is classified as a subsidiary. As per IFRS 10, an entity is classed 
as under the control of the Group when all three of the following elements are present: power over the entity; 
exposure to variable returns from the entity; and the ability of the Group to use its power to affect those 
variable returns. Control is reassessed whenever facts and circumstances indicate that there may be a change 
in any of these elements of control. 

In situations where the Company has the practical ability to direct the relevant activities of the investee 
without holding the majority of the voting rights, it is considered that de facto control exists. In determining 
whether de facto control exists the Group considers all relevant facts and circumstances, including:

 • The size of the Company’s voting rights relative to both the size and dispersion of other parties who hold 

voting rights;

 • Substantive potential voting rights held by the company and by other parties;

 • Other contractual arrangements; and 

 • Historic patterns in voting attendance.

The consolidated financial statements present the results of the Company and its subsidiaries as if they formed 
a single entity. Intercompany transactions and balances between Group companies are therefore eliminated 
in full. The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of business combinations using the 
acquisition method. In the statement of financial position, the acquiree’s identifiable assets and liabilities are 
initially recognised at their fair values at the acquisition date. Contingent liabilities dependent on the disposed 
value of an associated investment are only recognised when the fair value is above the associated threshold. 
The results of acquired operations are included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income from 
the date on which control is obtained. They are consolidated until the date on which control ceases.

(iii) Associates

Associates are entities over which the Group has significant influence, but does not control, generally 
accompanied by a shareholding of between 20% and 50% of the voting rights.

No associates are presented on the consolidated statement of financial position as the Group elects to hold 
such investments at fair value in the consolidated statement of financial position. This treatment is permitted 
by IAS 28 Investment in Associates and Joint Ventures, which permits investments held by entities that are 
akin to venture capital organisations to be excluded from its measurement methodology requirements where 
those investments are designated, upon initial recognition, as at fair value through profit or loss and accounted 
for in accordance with IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. Changes in fair value of 
associates are recognised in profit or loss in the period of the change. The Group has no interests in associates 
through which it carries on its business.

The disclosures required by Section 409 of the Companies Act 2006 for associated undertakings are included 
in Note 10 of the Company financial statements. Similarly, those investments which may not have qualified as 
Associate but fall within the wider scope of significant holdings and so are subject to Section 409 disclosure 
acts are also included in Note 10 of the Company financial statements.

(iv) Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships (“Limited Partnerships”)

Limited Partnerships

Group entities act as general partner and investment manager to the following Limited Partnerships:

Name

IP Venture Fund II LP (“IPVFII”)

IP Venture Fund LP (“IPVF”)

The North East Technology Fund LP (“NETF”)

106

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Interest 
in limited 
partnership
%

33.3

10.0

—

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

The Group receives compensation for its role as investment manager to these Limited Partnerships including 
fixed fees and performance fees. The directors consider that these amounts are in substance and form “normal 
market rate” compensation for its role as investment manager. 

In order to determine whether these Limited Partnerships were required to be consolidated, the presence of 
the three elements of control noted in part (ii) was examined. 

The Group’s significant stake in IPVFII creates a significant exposure to the variability of returns from those 
interests and the Group’s ability to direct the operations of the fund would result in IP Group obtaining the 
benefits of its activities. As such, IPVFII meets the criteria in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements and is 
consequently consolidated.

In the case of IPVF, the directors consider that the minority Limited Partnership interest does not create an 
exposure of such significance that it indicates that the Group acts as anything other than an agent for the 
other Limited Partners in the arrangement. This is further supported by the presence of a strict investment 
policy and the inability for the general partner to change the restrictive terms of that policy other than with 
agreement of 100% of IPVF’s Limited Partners.

Similarly, the lack of a stake in NETF indicates the Group’s role as an agent for the limited partner. As a result, 
the Directors consider that the Group does not have the power to govern the operations of these limited 
partnerships so as to obtain benefits from their activities and accordingly do not meet the definition of a 
subsidiary under IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements. However, the Group does have the power to 
exercise significant influence over its limited partnerships and accordingly the Group’s accounting treatment 
for the interest in IPVF is consistent with that of associates as described earlier in this report, i.e. in accordance 
with IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and designated as at fair value through profit 
or loss on initial recognition. 

Limited Liability Partnerships

The Group has a 17.9% interest in the total capital commitments of Technikos LLP (“Technikos”). The general 
partner and investment manager of Technikos are parties external to the Group. 

(v) Non-controlling interests

The total comprehensive income, assets and liabilities of non-wholly owned subsidiaries are attributed to 
owners of the parent and to the non-controlling interests in proportion to their relative ownership interests.

Portfolio return and revenue 
Change in fair value
Change in fair value of equity and debt investments represents revaluation gains and losses on the Group’s 
portfolio of investments. Gains on disposal of equity investments represent the difference between the fair 
value of consideration received and the carrying value at the start of the accounting period on the disposal 
of equity investments. Change in fair value of Limited Partnership investments represents revaluation gains 
and losses on the Group’s investments in Limited Partnership funds. Changes in fair values of assets do not 
constitute revenue. 

Revenue from services and other income
All revenue from services is generated within the United Kingdom and is stated exclusive of value added tax. 
Revenue from services and other income comprises:

Advisory fees: 

Fees earned from the provision of business support services are recognised as the related services are 
provided. Corporate finance advisory fees are generally earned as a fixed percentage of total funds raised 
and recognised at the time the related transaction is successfully concluded. In some instances, these fees are 
settled via the issue of equity in the company receiving the corporate finance services at the same price per 
share as equity issued as part the financing round to which the advisory fees apply. 

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107

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

1. Accounting Policies continued
Fund management services: 

Fiduciary fund management fees are generally earned as a fixed percentage of total funds under management 
and are recognised as the related services are provided.

Licence income: 

Income from licensing and similar income is recognised on an accruals basis in accordance with the terms of 
the relevant licensing agreements. Income from milestone income is recognised once performance obligations 
are satisfied, on an accruals basis and in accordance with the terms of the relevant licensing agreements.

Dividends: 

Dividends receivable from equity shares are included within other portfolio income and recognised on the 
ex-dividend date or, where no ex-dividend date is quoted, are recognised when the Group’s right to receive 
payment is established.

Property, plant and equipment
All property, plant and equipment is shown at cost less subsequent depreciation and impairment. Cost includes 
expenditure that is attributable to the acquisition of the items. Depreciation on assets is calculated using the 
straight-line method to allocate the cost of each asset to its residual value over its estimated useful life, as 
follows:

Fixtures and fittings

Over 3 to 5 years

Computer equipment

Over 3 to 5 years

The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at each reporting date.

Intangible assets
Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of the net identifiable assets 
of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition. Goodwill on acquisitions of subsidiaries is included 
in intangible assets and allocated from the acquisition date to each of the Group’s cash-generating units 
(“CGUs”) that are expected to benefit from the business combination. Goodwill may be allocated to CGUs in 
both the acquired business and in the existing business.

Other intangible assets

Other intangible assets represent contractual arrangements and memorandums of understanding with four 
UK universities acquired through acquisition of a subsidiary. At the date of acquisition, the cost of these 
intangibles as a share of the larger acquisition was calculated and subsequently the assets are held at 
amortised cost.

Impairment of intangible assets (including goodwill)
Goodwill is not subject to amortisation but is tested for impairment annually and whenever events or 
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Assets that are subject to 
amortisation are tested for impairment when events or a change in circumstances indicate that the carrying 
amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the carrying 
amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of the asset’s fair value less 
costs to sell and the value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairments, assets are grouped at the lowest 
levels for which there are identifiable cash flows (i.e. CGUs).

Financial assets
In respect of regular way purchases or sales, the Group uses trade date accounting to recognise or 
derecognise financial assets.

Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the assets have expired or the 
Group has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

The Group classifies its financial assets into one of the categories listed below, depending on the purpose 
for which the asset was acquired. None of the Group’s financial assets are categorised as held to maturity or 
available for sale. 

(i) At fair value through profit or loss

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are either financial assets held for trading or financial assets 
which are designated at fair value through profit or loss on initial recognition. 

This category includes equity investments, debt investments, equity rights, contingent value rights and 
investments in limited partnerships. Investments in associated undertakings, which are held by the Group with 
a view to the ultimate realisation of capital gains, are also categorised as at fair value through profit or loss. 
This measurement basis is consistent with the fact that the Group’s performance in respect of investments 
in equity investments, limited partnerships and associated undertakings is evaluated on a fair value basis in 
accordance with an established investment strategy. 

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are initially recognised at fair value and any gains or losses 
arising from subsequent changes in fair value are presented in profit or loss in the statement of comprehensive 
income in the period which they arise.

Fair value hierarchy

The Group classifies financial assets using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used 
in making the related fair value measurements. The level in the fair value hierarchy, within which a financial 
asset is classified, is determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to that asset’s fair value 
measurement. The fair value hierarchy has the following levels:

Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets.

Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, such as prices from market transactions. These 
are mainly based on prices determined from recent investments in the last twelve months.

Level 3 — One or more inputs that are not based on observable market data.

Equity investments

The fair values of quoted investments are based on bid prices in an active market at the reporting date. 
The fair value of unlisted securities is established using valuation techniques. These include the use of 
recent arm’s length transactions, discounted cash flow analysis and earnings multiples. Wherever possible, 
the Group uses valuation techniques which make maximum use of market-based inputs. Accordingly, the 
valuation methodology used most commonly by the Group is the ‘price of recent investment’ contained in the 
International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines (the “IPEVCV Guidelines”) endorsed by 
the British & European Venture Capital Associations. The following considerations are used when calculating 
the fair value of unlisted securities:

Cost

Where the investment being valued was itself made recently, its cost may provide a good indication of fair 
value unless there is objective evidence that the investment has since been impaired, such as observable data 
suggesting a deterioration of the financial, technical, or commercial performance of the underlying business.

Price of recent investment

The Group considers that fair value estimates, which are based entirely on observable market data, will be 
of greater reliability than those based on assumptions and, accordingly, where there has been any recent 
investment by third parties, the price of that investment will generally provide a basis of the valuation. The 
length of period for which it remains appropriate to use the price of recent investment depends on the specific 
circumstances of the investment and the stability of the external environment.

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109

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

1. Accounting Policies continued
Given the nature of the Group’s investments in seed, start-up and early-stage companies, where there are often 
no current and no short-term future earnings or positive cash flows, it can be difficult to gauge the probability 
and financial impact of the success or failure of development or research activities and to make reliable cash 
flow forecasts. Consequently, the most appropriate approach to determine fair value is a methodology that is 
based on market data, that being the price of a recent investment. Where the Group considers that the price 
of recent investment, unadjusted, is no longer relevant and there are limited or no comparable companies or 
transactions from which to infer value, the Group carries out an enhanced assessment based on milestone 
analysis and/or industry and sector analysis. In applying the milestone analysis approach to investments in 
companies in early or development stages the Group seeks to determine whether there is an indication of 
change in fair value based on a consideration of performance against any milestones that were set at the time 
of the original investment decision, as well as taking into consideration the key market drivers of the investee 
company and the overall economic environment. 

Where the Group considers that there is an indication that the fair value has changed, an estimation is made 
of the required amount of any adjustment from the last price of recent investment. Wherever possible, this 
adjustment is based on objective data from the investee company and the experience and judgement of the 
Group. However, any adjustment is, by its very nature, subjective. Where a deterioration in value has occurred, 
the Group reduces the carrying value of the investment to reflect the estimated decrease. If there is evidence 
of value creation the Group may consider increasing the carrying value of the investment; however, in the 
absence of additional financing rounds or profit generation it can be difficult to determine the value that 
a purchaser may place on positive developments given the potential outcome and the costs and risks to 
achieving that outcome and accordingly caution is applied. 

Factors that the Group considers include, inter alia, technical measures such as product development phases 
and patent approvals, financial measures such as cash burn rate and profitability expectations, and market and 
sales measures such as testing phases, product launches and market introduction. 

Other valuation techniques

If there is no readily ascertainable value from following the ‘price of recent investment’ methodology, or there 
is objective evidence that a deterioration in fair value has occurred since a relevant transaction, the Group 
considers alternative methodologies in the IPEVCV Guidelines such as discounted cash flows (“DCF”) or 
price-earnings multiples. DCF involves estimating the fair value of a business by calculating the present value 
of expected future cash flows, based on the most recent forecasts in respect of the underlying business. 
Given the difficulty of producing reliable cash flow forecasts for seed, start-up and early-stage companies as 
described earlier, this methodology is generally used as a confirmatory indicator of the level of any adjustment 
that may need to be made to the last price of recent investment. 

When using the earnings multiple methodology, earnings before interest and tax (“EBIT”) are generally used, 
adjusted to a maintainable level. A suitable earnings multiple is derived from an equivalent business or group 
of businesses, for which the average price-earnings multiple for the relevant sector index can generally be 
considered a suitable proxy. This multiple is applied to earnings to derive an enterprise value which is then 
discounted by up to 60% for non-marketability and other risks inherent to businesses in early stages of 
operation. 

No reliable estimate

Where a fair value cannot be estimated reliably, the investment is reported at the carrying value at the previous 
reporting date unless there is objective evidence that the investment has since been impaired.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Debt investments

Debt investments are generally unquoted debt instruments which are convertible to equity at a future point in 
time. Such instruments are considered to be hybrid instruments containing a fixed rate debt host contract with 
an embedded equity derivative. The Group designates the entire hybrid contract at fair value through profit or 
loss on initial recognition and, accordingly, the embedded derivative is not separated from the host contract 
and accounted for separately. The fair value of debt on initial recognition is measured at fair value which is 
equal to cost and subsequent remeasurement will be recognised as changes in fair value in the statement of 
comprehensive income.

Equity rights

The equity rights asset represents consideration paid to the University of Oxford between December 2000 
and June 2001 that gave the Group contractual rights to the receipt of shares in unlisted spin-out companies 
(or cash) based on research carried out in the university’s Department of Chemistry. It is considered to be a 
derivative financial asset and is designated as at fair value through profit and loss. Its value has been assessed 
each year with any impairments being charged to the income statement. The contract expired in November 
2015 and consequently the asset has been impaired to nil value.

Contingent value rights

In instances where the Group receives contingent financial consideration upon the disposal of a financial asset, 
the resulting asset shall be recognised and designated as at fair value through profit and loss, and treated 
accordingly.

(ii) Loans and receivables

These assets are non-derivative financial assets with fixed and determinable payments that are not quoted in 
an active market. They arise principally through the provision of services to customers (trade receivables) and 
are carried at cost less provision for impairment.

Deposits

Deposits comprise longer-term deposits held with financial institutions with an original maturity of greater 
than three months.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and short-term deposits held with financial institutions with an 
original maturity of three months or less.

Financial liabilities

Current financial liabilities are composed of trade payables and other short-term monetary liabilities, which are 
recognised at amortised cost. 

Non-current liabilities are composed of loans from Limited Partners of consolidated funds, and outstanding 
amounts drawn down from a debt facility provided by the European Investment Bank. The loans from Limited 
Partners of consolidated funds are repayable only upon the applicable funds generating sufficient returns to 
repay the Limited Partners. Management anticipates that the funds will generate the required returns and 
consequently recognises the full associated liabilities. Non-current liabilities are recognised initially at fair value 
net of transaction costs incurred, and subsequently at amortised cost.

Unless otherwise indicated, the carrying amounts of the Group’s financial liabilities are a reasonable 
approximation to their fair value.

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111

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

1. Accounting Policies continued
Share capital
Financial instruments issued by the Group are treated as equity if the holders have only a residual interest 
in the Group’s assets after deducting all liabilities. The objective of the Group is to manage capital so as to 
provide shareholders with above average returns through capital growth over the medium to long-term. The 
Group considers its capital to comprise its share capital, share premium, merger reserve and retained earnings.

Top Technology Ventures Limited, a Group subsidiary, is subject to external capital requirements imposed by 
the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and as such must ensure that it has sufficient capital to satisfy these 
requirements. The Group ensures it remains compliant with these requirements as described in the financial 
statements of Top Technology Ventures Limited.

Employee benefits
(i) Pension obligations

The Group operates a company defined contribution pension scheme for which all employees are eligible. 
The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Group in independently administered funds. 
The Group currently makes contributions on behalf of staff to this scheme or to employee personal pension 
schemes on an individual basis. The Group has no further payment obligations once the contributions have 
been paid. The contributions are recognised as employee benefit expenses when they are due.

(ii) Share-based payments

The Group engages in equity-settled share-based payment transactions in respect of services receivable from 
employees, by granting employees conditional awards of ordinary shares subject to certain vesting conditions. 

Conditional awards of shares are made pursuant to the Group’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) awards and/
or the Group’s Annual Incentive Scheme (“AIS”). The fair value of the shares is estimated at the date of grant, 
taking into account the terms and conditions of the award, including market-based performance conditions. 

The fair value at the date of grant is recognised as an expense over the period that the employee provides 
services, generally the period between the start of the performance period and the vesting date of the shares. 
The corresponding credit is recognised in retained earnings within total equity. The fair value of services is 
calculated using the market value on the date of award and is adjusted for expected and actual levels of 
vesting. Where conditional awards of shares lapse the expense recognised to date is credited to the statement 
of comprehensive income in the year in which they lapse.

Where the terms for an equity-settled award are modified, and the modification increases the total fair value 
of the share-based payment, or is otherwise beneficial to the employee at the date of modification, the 
incremental fair value is amortised over the vesting period.

Deferred tax

Full provision is made for deferred tax on all temporary differences resulting from the carrying value of an 
asset or liability and its tax base. Deferred tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted 
or substantively enacted by the reporting date and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset 
is realised or deferred tax liability settled. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that the deferred tax asset will be recovered in the future.

Leases
Leases where the lessor retains substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership are classified as 
operating leases. Payments made under operating leases are charged to administrative expenses in the 
statement of comprehensive income on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

2. Financial Risk Management
As set out in the Principal risks and uncertainties section on pages 40 to 44, the Group is exposed, through its 
normal operations, to a number of financial risks, the most significant of which are market, liquidity and credit 
risks. 

In general, risk management is carried out throughout the Group under policies approved by the Board of 
Directors. The following further describes the Group’s objectives, policies and processes for managing those 
risks and the methods used to measure them. Further quantitative information in respect of these risks is 
presented throughout these financial statements.

(a) Market risk
(i) Price risk

The Group is exposed to equity securities price risk as a result of the equity and debt investments, and 
investments in Limited Partnerships held by the Group and categorised as at fair value through profit or loss.

The Group mitigates this risk by having established investment appraisal processes and asset monitoring 
procedures which are subject to overall review by the Board. The Group has also established corporate finance 
and communications teams dedicated to supporting portfolio companies with fundraising activities and 
investor relations.

The Group holds investments which are publicly traded on AIM (17 companies) and investments which are not 
traded on an active market.

The net increase in fair value of the Group’s equity and debt investments during 2016 of £6.5m represents a 
1.4% change against the opening balance (2015: net increase of £86.2m, 25% change) and a similar increase or 
decrease in the prices of quoted and unquoted investments is considered to be reasonably possible. The table 
below summarises the impact of a 1% increase/decrease in the price of both quoted and unquoted investments 
on the Group’s post-tax profit for the year and on equity.

Equity investments and investments 
in limited partnerships

(ii) Interest rate risk

2016

2015

Quoted
£m

Unquoted
£m

Total
£m

Quoted
£m

Unquoted
£m

1.6

4.6

6.2

2.0

3.6

Total
£m

5.6

The EIB debt facility bears interest at a fixed rate of 1.98% with an additional variable spread equal to the 
six month GBP Libor rate as at the first date of each six-month interest period. The first £15.0m tranche was 
disbursed on 17 December 2015 and the average floating interest rate (including the fixed element) for 2016 
was 2.66% (2015: 2.48%).

The other primary impact of interest rate risk to the Group is the impact on the income and operating cash 
flows as a result of the interest-bearing deposits and cash and cash equivalents held by the Group.

(iii) Concentrations of risk

The Group is exposed to concentration risk via the significant majority of the portfolio being UK based 
companies and thus subject to the performance of the UK economy. The Group is increasing its operations in 
the US and the determination of the associated concentrations is determined by the number of investment 
opportunities that management believe represent a good investment.

The Group mitigates this risk, in co-ordination with liquidity risk, by managing its proportion of fixed to floating 
rate financial assets. The table overleaf summarises the interest rate profile of the Group.

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113

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

2. Financial Risk Management continued

2016

2015

Fixed 
rate 
£m

Floating 
rate 
£m

Interest 
free 
£m

Total 
£m

Fixed 
rate 
£m

Floating 
rate 
£m

Interest 
free 
£m

Total 
£m

Financial assets

Equity investments

Debt investments

Limited and limited liability 
partnership interests

Contingent value rights

Deposits

—

0.2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Cash and cash equivalents

30.0

82.3

—

—

—

—

594.9

594.9

18.9

19.1

4.2

—

—

—

2.3

0.3

4.2

—

—

112.3

2.3

0.3

—

0.2

—

—

70.0

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

108.8

—

—

543.1

8.9

4.4

1.4

—

—

3.0

0.2

543.1

9.1

4.4

1.4

70.0

108.8

3.0

0.2

Trade receivables

Other receivables

Financial liabilities

Trade payables

Other accruals and deferred 
income

EIB debt facility

Loans from limited partners 
of consolidated funds

30.2

82.3

620.6

733.1

70.2

108.8

561.0

740.0

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(0.7)

(0.7)

(1.4)

(1.4)

(14.9)

—

(14.9)

—

(14.9)

(9.8)

(11.9)

(9.8)

(26.8)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(14.9)

(0.7)

(0.7)

(3.2)

—

(3.2)

(14.9)

—

(7.1)

(7.1)

(14.9)

(11.0)

(25.9)

At 31 December 2016, if interest rates had been 1% higher/lower, post-tax profit for the year, and other 
components of equity, would have been £0.8m (2015: £1.1m) higher/lower as a result of higher interest received 
on floating rate cash deposits.

(b) Liquidity risk
The Group seeks to manage liquidity risk, to ensure sufficient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs 
and to invest cash assets safely and profitably. The Group’s Treasury Management Policy asserts that at any 
one point in time no more than 60% of the Group’s cash and cash equivalents will be placed in fixed-term 
deposits with a holding period greater than three months. Accordingly, the Group only invests working capital 
in short-term instruments issued by reputable counterparties. The Group continually monitors rolling cash flow 
forecasts to ensure sufficient cash is available for anticipated cash requirements.

(c) Credit risk
The Group’s credit risk is primarily attributable to its deposits, cash and cash equivalents, debt investments 
and trade receivables. The Group seeks to mitigate its credit risk on cash and cash equivalents by making 
short-term deposits with counterparties, or by investing in treasury funds with an “AA” credit rating or above 
managed by institutions. Short-term deposit counterparties are required to have most recently reported total 
assets in excess of £5bn and, where applicable, a prime short-term credit rating at the time of investment 
(ratings are generally determined by Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s). Moody’s prime credit ratings of “P1”, “P2” 
and “P3” indicate respectively that the rating agency considers the counterparty to have a “superior”, “strong” 
or “acceptable” ability to repay short-term debt obligations (generally defined as having an original maturity 
not exceeding 13 months). An analysis of the Group’s deposits and cash and cash equivalents balance analysed 
by credit rating as at the reporting date is shown in the table opposite. All other financial assets are unrated. 

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Credit rating

P1

P2

Total deposits and cash and cash equivalents

2016
 £m

76.7

35.6

112.3

2015
 £m

126.3

52.5

178.8

The Group has no significant concentration of credit risk, with exposure spread over a large number of 
counterparties and customers. The Group has detailed policies and strategies which seek to minimise these 
associated risks including defining maximum counterparty exposure limits for term deposits based on their 
perceived financial strength at the commencement of the deposit. The maximum single counterparty limit for 
deposits at 31 December 2016 was £50m (2015: £50m). 

The Group’s exposure to credit risk on debt investments is managed in a similar way to equity price risk, as 
described earlier, through the Group’s investment appraisal processes and asset monitoring procedures which 
are subject to overall review by the Board.

The maximum exposure to credit risk for debt investments, receivables and other financial assets is 
represented by their carrying amount.

3. Significant Accounting Estimates and Judgements
The directors make judgements and estimates concerning the future. Estimates and judgements are 
continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, such as expectations of future 
events, and are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these 
estimates. The estimates and assumptions, which have the most significant effects on the carrying amounts of 
the assets and liabilities in the financial statements, are discussed below.

(i) Valuation of unquoted equity investments
The judgements required, in order to determine the appropriate valuation methodology of unquoted equity 
investments, have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets 
and liabilities. These judgements include making assessments of the future earnings potential of portfolio 
companies, appropriate earnings multiples to apply, and marketability and other risk discounts.

(ii) Impairment of goodwill
The Group is required to test, at least annually, whether goodwill has suffered any impairment. The recoverable 
amount is determined using a number of value-in-use and fair-value-less-costs-to-sell calculations. The use 
of these methods requires the estimation of future cash flows, and the selection of a suitable discount rate, in 
order to calculate the present value of these cash flows as well as the selection of applicable and reasonable 
multiples.

Discussion of sensitivity analyses is included in the relevant note for each of the above estimates and 
judgements.

4. Revenue from Services
All revenue from services is derived from either the provision of advisory and venture capital fund 
management services or the licensing of internally developed therapeutic compounds.

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

5. Operating Segments
For both the year ended 31 December 2016 and the year ended 31 December 2015, the Group’s revenue and 
profit/loss before taxation were derived almost entirely from its principal activities within the UK. Though 
the Group has initiated operations in the US, the associated revenues and costs are currently immaterial and 
accordingly, no additional geographical disclosures are given. For management reporting purposes, the Group 
is currently organised into three operating segments: (i) the commercialisation of intellectual property via the 
formation of long-term partner relationships with universities; (ii) the management of venture funds focusing 
on early-stage UK technology companies; and (iii) the in-licensing of drugable intellectual property from 
research intensive institutions. These activities are described in further detail in the Strategic report on pages  
6 to 49.

Year ended 31 December 2016

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Portfolio return and revenue

Change in fair value of equity and debt investments 

Loss on disposal of equity investments

Change in fair value of limited and limited liability 
partnership interests

Change in fair value of contingent value right

Other portfolio income

Licensing income

Revenue from services and other income

Revenue from fund management services

Amortisation of intangible assets

Acquisition costs

Administrative expenses

Operating loss

Finance income – interest receivable

Loss before taxation

Taxation

Loss for the year

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Assets

Liabilities

Net assets

Other segment items

Capital expenditure

Depreciation

University 
partnership 
business 
£m

Venture 
capital fund 
management 
£m

In-licensing 
activity 
£m

Consolidated 
£m

7.0

(0.5)

(0.3)

(1.4)

0.2

0.8

—

(5.6)

(0.4)

(14.9)

(15.1)

0.6

(14.5)

—

(14.5)

778.4

(26.5)

751.9

0.1

(0.1)

—

—

—

—

0.9

0.9

—

—

(0.7)

1.1

—

1.1

—

1.1

10.9

(0.1)

10.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(1.4)

(1.4)

—

(1.4)

—

(1.4)

6.2

(0.2)

6.0

—

—

7.0

(0.5)

(0.3)

(1.4)

0.2

1.7

0.9

(5.6)

(0.4)

(16.9)

(15.4)

0.6

(14.8)

—

(14.8)

795.5

(26.8)

768.7

0.1

(0.1)

116

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Year ended 31 December 2015

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Portfolio return and revenue

Change in fair value of equity and debt investments 

Gain on disposal of equity investments

Change in fair value of limited and limited liability 
partnership interests

Other portfolio income

Licensing income

Revenue from services and other income

Revenue from fund management services

Change in fair value of Oxford Equity Rights asset

Amortisation of intangible assets

Administrative expenses

Operating profit

Finance income — interest receivable

Profit before taxation

Taxation

Profit for the year

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Assets

Liabilities

Net assets

Other segment items

Capital expenditure

Depreciation

University 
partnership 
business 
£m

Venture 
capital fund 
management 
£m

In-licensing 
activity 
£m

Consolidated 
£m

86.4

(0.2)

0.4

0.2

0.1

0.9

—

(1.3)

(6.0)

(13.9)

66.6

1.3

67.9

—

67.9

788.8

(25.5)

763.3

—

(0.1)

—

—

—

—

—

1.1

1.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.0

—

—

—

—

(0.8)

(2.5) 

1.7

—

1.7

—

1.7

11.3

(0.1)

11.2

—

—

5.5

—

5.5

—

5.5

7.7

(0.3)

7.4

—

—

86.4

(0.2)

0.4

0.2

8.1

2.0

1.4

(1.3)

(6.0)

(17.2)

73.8

1.3

75.1

—

75.1

807.8

(25.9)

781.9

—

(0.1)

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117

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

6. Auditor’s Remuneration
Details of the auditor’s remuneration are set out below:

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual 
accounts 

The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries, pursuant to legislation 

Total fees for audit services

Audit-related assurance services 

Total assurance services

Tax compliance services 

Taxation advisory services

All other services 

Total non-assurance services

7. Operating Profit
Operating profit has been arrived at after charging:

Amortisation of intangible assets

Depreciation of tangible assets

Employee costs (see note 8)

Operating leases — property

Loss on disposal of equity investments

8. Employee Costs
Employee costs (including directors) comprise:

Salaries

Defined contribution pension cost

Share-based payment charge (see note 21)

Other bonuses accrued in the year

Social security

2016
 £’000s

2015
 £’000s

74

87

161

21

182

—

—

18

—

200

2016
 £m

(5.6)

(0.1)

(9.5)

(0.5)

(0.5)

2016
 £m

7.0

0.4

1.5

—

0.6

9.5

73

87

160

20

180

—

—

—

—

180

2015
 £m

(6.0)

(0.1)

(10.3)

(0.4)

(0.2)

2015
 £m

5.5

0.3

1.5

2.2

0.8

10.3

The average monthly number of persons (including Executive Directors) employed by the Group during the 
year was 70, all of whom were involved in management and administration activities (2015: 64). Details of the 
Directors’ remuneration can be found in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 69 to 87.

118

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

9. Taxation

Current tax

Deferred tax

2016
 £m

—

—

2015
 £m

—

—

The Group primarily seeks to generate capital gains from its holdings in spin-out companies over the longer-
term but has historically made annual net operating losses from its operations from a UK tax perspective. 
Capital gains achieved by the Group would ordinarily be taxed upon realisation of such holdings, however, 
since the Group’s activities, including its activities in the US, are substantially trading in nature, the Directors 
continue to believe that the Group qualifies for the Substantial Shareholdings Exemption (“SSE”). This 
exemption provides that gains arising on the disposal of qualifying holdings are not chargeable to UK 
corporation tax and, as such, the Group has continued not to recognise a provision for deferred taxation in 
respect of uplifts in value on those equity holdings that meet the qualifying criteria. Gains arising on sales of 
non-qualifying holdings would ordinarily give rise to taxable profits for the Group, to the extent that these 
exceed the Group’s operating losses from time to time.

The amount for the year can be reconciled to the profit per the statement of comprehensive income as follows:

Profit before tax

Tax at the UK corporation tax rate of 20.0% (2015: 20.3%)

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes

Fair value movement on investments qualifying for SSE

Movement on share-based payments

Unrecognised other temporary differences

Movement in tax losses arising not recognised

Total tax charge

2016
 £m

(14.8)

(3.0)

0.9

(1.3)

0.1

—

3.3

—

2015
 £m

75.1

15.2

1.4

(18.8)

(0.6)

1.3

1.5

—

At 31 December 2016, deductible temporary differences and unused tax losses, for which no deferred tax asset 
has been recognised, totalled £141.7m (2015: £105.5m). An analysis is shown below:

Share-based payment costs and other temporary 
differences

Unused tax losses

2016

2015

Amount 
£m

Deferred tax 
£m

Amount 
£m

Deferred tax 
£m

14.1

127.6

141.7

2.4

21.7

24.1

6.0

99.5

105.5

1.1

17.9

19.0

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119

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

9. Taxation continued
At 31 December 2016, deductible temporary differences and unused tax losses, for which a deferred tax asset/
(liability) has been recognised, totalled £nil (2015: £nil). An analysis is shown below:

2016

2015

Amount 
£m

Deferred tax 
£m

Amount 
£m

Deferred tax 
£m

Temporary timing differences

Unused tax losses

10. Earnings per Share

Earnings

2.6

(2.6)

—

0.4

(0.4)

—

Earnings for the purposes of basic and dilutive earnings per share

Number of shares

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes 

of basic earnings per share

Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:

Options or contingently issuable shares 

(4.4)

4.4

—

2016
 £m

(13.5)

(0.8)

0.8 

—

2015
 £m

73.9

2016
 Number of 
shares

2015
Number of 
shares

565,056,171 540,681,647

—

1,237,274

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes 

of diluted earnings per share

565,056,171

541,918,921

Potentially dilutive ordinary shares include contingently issuable shares arising under the Group’s LTIP 
arrangements, and options issued as part of the Group’s Sharesave schemes and Deferred Bonus Share Plan 
(for annual bonuses deferred under the terms of the Group’s annual incentive scheme). As the Group made 
a loss for the period the potentially dilutive shares outstanding at the period end are not considered when 
calculating the diluted earnings per share.

11. Goodwill

At 1 January 2016

At 31 December 2016

£m

57.1

57.1

The Group conducts annual impairment tests on the carrying value of goodwill, based on the recoverable 
amount of the CGUs to which the goodwill has been allocated. The goodwill allocated to each CGU is 
summarised in the table below. A number of both value-in-use and fair-value-less-costs-to-sell calculations are 
used to assess the recoverable values of the CGUs, details of which are specified below.

2016
£m

55.0

2.1

57.1

2015
£m

55.0

2.1

57.1

University partnership CGU

Fund management CGU

120

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Impairment review of venture capital fund management CGU
The key assumptions of the DCF model used to assess the value in use, and the range of multiples applied in 
calculating the fair-value-less-costs-to-sell based on a percentage of assets under management are shown 
below:

Discount rate

Number of funds under management

Management fee

Cost inflation

Percentage of assets under management

2016

9%-11%

4

2015

9%–11%

3

2%-3.25%

2%–3.5%

1.5%

2%-7.5%

2%

2%–7%

A number of different value-in-use models were assessed in order to evaluate the recoverable value of the 
CGU, none of which resulted in an impairment being required.

Impairment review of the university partnership CGU
The key assumptions of the DCF models used to assess the value in use are shown below.

For the purposes of impairment testing, the university partnership CGU comprises those elements connected 
with the Group’s university partnership business. The Directors consider that for each of the key variables 
which would be relevant in determining a recoverable value for the university partnership CGU, there is a range 
of reasonably possible alternative values. The key variable ranges are set out below:

Number of spin-out companies per year 

Annual investment rate

Rate of return achieved

Initial equity stake acquired by the Group under the university partnership

Proportion of spin-out companies failing

Weighted average holding period (years)

Dilution rates prior to exit as a result of financing for spin-out companies 

Proportion of IPO exits

IPO exit valuations

Proportion of disposal exits

Disposal valuations

Discount rate

2016
 £m

10–15

2015
 £m

10–15

£40–£75m £40m–£60m

15%–22%

12%–30%

38%–54%

4–6

40%–60%

25%–35%

18%–22%

15%–35%

32%–45%

3–5

40%–60%

25%–35%

£30m–£40m £30m–£40m

25%–32%

28%–32%

£25m–£35m £25m–£35m

9%–11%

9%–11%

When determining the key variables, management has, where possible and appropriate, used historical 
performance data as a basis. In instances where the forecasted volumes and scale of activity do not align with 
the Group’s prior performance, management applies its judgement in determining said variables. A number 
of different value-in-use models were assessed in order to evaluate the recoverable value of the CGU, none of 
which resulted in an impairment being required.

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

12. Intangible Assets

Cost
At 1 January 2016

Additions

At 31 December 2016

Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2016

Charge for the year

At 31 December 2016

Net book value

At 31 December 2016
At 31 December 2015

 £m

21.4

0.2

21.6

10.9

5.6

16.5

5.1
10.5

The intangible assets represent contractual arrangements and memorandums of understanding with four UK 
universities acquired through acquisition of a subsidiary. The contractual arrangements have fixed terms and, 
consequently, the intangible assets have a finite life which align with the remaining terms which, at the end 
of the period, range from 14 months to 19 months. The individual contractual arrangements are amortised in 
a straight line over the remainder of their terms with the expense being presented directly on the primary 
statements.

122

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

13. Categorisation of Financial Instruments

Financial assets

At 31 December 2016
Equity investments

Debt investments

Other financial assets

Limited and limited liability partnership interests 

Trade and other receivables

Deposits

Cash and cash equivalents

Total
At 31 December 2015

Equity investments

Debt investments

Other financial assets

Contingent value rights

Limited and limited liability partnership interests

Trade and other receivables

Deposits

Cash and cash equivalents

Total

At fair value through  
profit or loss

Held for 
trading 
£m

Designated 
upon initial 
recognition 
£m

Loans and 
receivables 
£m

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

594.9

19.1

—

4.2

—

—

—

618.2

543.1

9.1

—

1.4

4.4

—

—

—

558.0

—

—

—

—

2.6

—

112.3

114.9

—

—

—

—

—

3.2

70.0

108.8

182.0

Total 
£m

594.9

19.1

—

4.2

2.6

—

112.3

733.1

543.1

9.1

—

1.4

4.4

3.2

70.0

108.8

740.0

All financial liabilities are categorised as other financial liabilities and recognised at amortised cost.

The Group does not consider that any change in fair value of financial assets in the year is attributable to credit 
risk (2015: £nil).

All net fair value gains in the year are attributable to financial assets designated at fair value through profit or 
loss on initial recognition (2015: all net fair value gains attributable to financial assets designated at fair value 
through profit or loss on initial recognition).

All interest income is attributable to financial assets not classified as fair value through profit and loss.

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

14. Investment Portfolio

At 1 January 2016

Investments during the year

Transaction-based reclassifications 
during the year

Other transfers between hierarchy 
levels during the year

Disposals

Fees settled via equity

Change in fair value in the year(i)

At 31 December 2016

At 1 January 2015

Investments during the year

Transaction-based reclassifications 
during the year

Other transfers between hierarchy 
levels during the year

Disposals

Fees settled via equity

Change in fair value in the year(i)

At 31 December 2015

Level 1

Equity 
investments 
in quoted 
spin-out 
companies 
£m

201.3

10.9

—

—

(15.0)

—

(36.1)

161.1

138.2

26.2

2.3

24.6

—

—

10.0

201.3

Level 2

Equity 
investments 
in unquoted 
spin-out 
companies 
£m

Unquoted 
debt 
investments 
in spin-out 
companies 
£m

308.6

50.9

9.1

6.2

0.7

(0.7)

(39.8)

(0.2)

0.4

47.4

368.0

193.2 

82.3 

(1.4) 

(50.9)

—

0.7

84.7 

308.6 

6.7

(0.1)

—

(2.1)

19.1

4.0 

7.1 

(0.9)

0.1 

(0.3)

—

(0.9)

9.1 

Level 3

Equity 
investments 
in unquoted 
spin-out 
companies 
£m

33.2

1.7

—

33.1

—

—

(2.2)

65.8

14.5 

0.3 

Total 
£m

552.2

69.7

—

—

(15.3)

0.4

7.0

614.0

349.9 

115.9 

— 

 — 

26.2 

(0.5)

—

(7.3)

33.2 

 —

(0.8)

0.7

86.5 

552.2 

i. 

 The change in fair value in the year includes a gain of £0.7m (2015: £0.1m) in exchange differences on translating foreign currency investments, 
which is entirely attributable to Level 2 equity. 

The Group’s policy is to classify equity investments in unquoted spin-out companies as Level 2 where prices 
have been determined from recent investments in the last twelve months. The impact of changing the 
qualifying criteria for Level 2 to be determined from recent investments in the last six months would mean 
4.4% (2015: 29.9%) of the equity investments in unquoted spin-out companies would be reclassified to Level 3. 

Fair values of unquoted spin-out companies classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy have been 
determined, in part or in full, by valuation techniques that are not supported by observable market prices or 
rates. Investments in 54 (2015: 21) companies have been classified as Level 3 and the individual valuations for 
each of these have been arrived at using a variety of valuation techniques and assumptions. 

Where fair values are based upon the most recent market transaction, but that transaction occurred more 
than twelve months prior to the balance sheet date, the investments are classified as Level 3 in the fair value 
hierarchy. The fair values of investments categorised as Level 3 are analysed on a monthly basis to determine 
business factors which may make the most recent investment rate no longer a representation of fair value.

There are no identified unobservable inputs to which the Level 3 fair values would be materially sensitive. This 
is represented by the fact that if the fair value of all Level 3 investments were to decrease by 10%, the net 
assets figure would decrease by £6.6m (2015: £3.3m), with a corresponding increase if the unobservable inputs 
were to increase by 10%.

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

For assets and liabilities that are recognised at fair value on a recurring basis, the Group determines whether 
transfers have occurred between levels in the hierarchy by re-assessing categorisation (based on the lowest 
level input that is significant to the fair value measurement as a whole) at the end of each reporting period. 
Transfers between tiers are then made as if the transfer took place on the first day of the period in question, 
except in the cases of transfers between tiers based on an initial public offering (“IPO”) of an investment 
wherein the changes in value prior to the IPO are calculated and reported in tier 2, and those changes post are 
attributed to tier 1.

If the assumptions used in the valuation techniques for the Group’s holding in each company are varied by 
using a range of possible alternatives, there is no material difference to the carrying value of the respective 
spin-out company. The effect on the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the period is also 
not expected to be material.

Transfers between Level 2 and Level 1 occur when a previously unquoted investment undertakes an initial 
public offering, resulting in its equity becoming quoted on an active market. In the current period, transfers of 
this nature amounted to £nil.

Transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 would occur when a quoted investment’s market becomes inactive, or 
the portfolio company elects to delist. There has been one such instance in the current period which amounted 
to £nil (2015: £nil).

Transfers between Level 3 and Level 2 occur when an investment which previously had a most recent 
investment of over twelve months ago undertakes an investment, resulting in an observable market rate. In the 
current period, transfers of this nature amounted to £7.3m (2015: £2.1m).

Transfers between Level 2 and Level 3 occur when an investment’s recent investment becomes more than 
twelve months old, with the price being deemed unobservable. In the current period, transfers of this nature 
amounted to £45.3m (2015: £28.4m).

Fair value changes in Level 3 investments have been a loss of £4.0m (2015: £7.3m) in the period, recognised 
as change in fair value of equity and debt investments in the condensed consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income.

Change in fair value in the year

Fair value gains

Fair value losses

2016
 £m

57.3

(50.3)

7.0

2015
 £m

115.4

(29.0)

86.4

The Company’s interests in subsidiary undertakings are listed in note 2 to the Company’s financial statements.

15. Trade and Other Receivables

Trade debtors

Prepayments

Other receivables

2016
 £m

2.3

0.3

—

2.6

2015
 £m

3.0

0.2

—

3.2

The Directors consider the carrying amount of trade and other receivables to approximate their fair value. All 
receivables are interest free, repayable on demand and unsecured. 

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

16. Contingent Value Rights
As a result of the disposal of Proximagen Group plc in August 2012, the Group received contingent 
consideration, in the form of contingent value rights (“CVRs”), based upon future net revenues of two 
associated drug programmes. In line with the Group’s policies, these have previously been recognised as 
financial assets at fair value through profit and loss. The Group re-evaluated the likelihood of receiving the 
contingent consideration in relation to the CVRs at the reporting date and no longer consider that it is 
realisable. The financial asset has been fair valued at £nil (2015: £1.4m) and the associated fair value movement 
has been charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income. The Group considers this asset to 
be Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy throughout the current and previous financial years.

17. Trade and Other Payables

Current liabilities

Trade payables

Social security expenses

Other accruals and deferred income 

18. Borrowings

Non-current liabilities

EIB debt facility

Loans drawn down from the Limited Partners of consolidated funds

2016
 £m

0.7

0.3

1.1

2.1

2016
 £m

14.9

9.8

24.7

2015
 £m

0.7

0.2

3.0

3.9

2015
 £m

14.9

7.1

22.0

Loans drawn down from the Limited Partners of consolidated funds
The loans from Limited Partners of consolidated funds are interest free and repayable only upon the applicable 
funds generating sufficient returns to repay the Limited Partners. Management anticipates that the funds will 
generate the required returns and consequently recognises the full associated liabilities.

EIB debt facility
On 8 July 2015 the Group secured a £30m, 8-year debt facility from the European Investment Bank. The facility 
is to be disbursed in two tranches. The Group will use the proceeds to continue to fund UK university spin-out 
companies as they develop and mature. A non-utilisation fee of 0.15% is charged over the undrawn element of 
the facility, which in 2016 was £nil (2015: £nil).

The first tranche of £15.0m was drawn down on 16 December 2015. There were £0.1m of initial transaction 
costs incurred in the arrangement of the facility. This balance was set against the loan amount and is to be 
subsequently amortised over the term of the loan. The associated charge to the statement of comprehensive 
income for 2016 was £nil (2015: nil). The capital is repayable in ten equal payments over a five-year period with 
the first payment due on 7 January 2019. 

The drawn down element of the facility bears interest at a fixed rate of 1.98% with an additional variable 
spread equal to the six month GBP Libor rate as at the first date of each six-month interest period. The first 
£15.0m tranche was disbursed on 17 December 2015 and the average floating interest rate (including the fixed 
element) for 2016 was 2.66% (2015: 2.48%). The interest charged in 2016 was £0.4m (2015: £nil).

The Group must ensure that the ratio between the value of the portfolio along with the value of the Group’s 
cash net of any outstanding liabilities, and the outstanding debt facility does not fall below 6:1. The Group 
must maintain that the amount of unencumbered funds freely available to the Group is not less than £15.0m. 
The Group is also required to maintain a separate bank account which must at any date maintain a minimum 
balance equal to that of all payments due to the EIB in the forthcoming six months.

126

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

19. Share Capital

Issued and fully paid:

Ordinary Shares of 2p each

At 1 January

Issued under share placings

Issued under employee share plans

At 31 December

2016

2015

Number

£m

Number

564,648,168

11.3 479,524,397

—

573,799

— 83,388,888

—

1,734,883

565,221,967

11.3 564,648,168

£m

9.6

1.7

—

11.3

The Company has one class of ordinary shares with a par value of 2p (“Ordinary Shares”) which carry equal 
voting rights, equal rights to income and distributions of assets on liquidation, or otherwise, and no right to 
fixed income.

In April 2016, the Group issued 457,877 new Ordinary Shares in order to settle the 2013 LTIP scheme for which 
the vesting conditions were fully achieved and consequently the resulting shares became issuable to the 
Group’s employees. The Group issued 101,622 new Ordinary Shares in order to settle the exercise of certain 
options that had been issued under the Group’s Deferred Bonus Share Plan (“DBSP”, see Note 21). Finally, in 
November 2016, the Group issued 14,300 new Ordinary Shares in order to settle the exercise of options by a 
former Group employee. 

20. Operating Lease Arrangements

Payments under operating leases recognised in the statement 
of comprehensive income for the year

2016
 £m

0.5

2015
 £m

0.4

At the reporting date, the Group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under 
non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year

In the second to fifth years inclusive

2016
 £m

0.6

3.1

3.7

2015
 £m

0.3

0.1

0.4

Operating lease payments represent rentals and other charges payable by the Group for its office properties. 
Leases are negotiated for an average term of five years and rentals are fixed for an average of one year.

In December 2016 the Group entered into a lease for new head office premises with an initial rent free period 
of twelve months and a total 5-year commitment of £3.1m in lease and service charge payments.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

127

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

21. Share-Based Payments
In 2016, the Group continued to incentivise employees through its LTIP and AIS. Both are described in more 
detail in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 69 to 87.

Deferred Bonus Share Plan (“DBSP”)
Awards made to employees under the Group’s AIS above a certain threshold include 50% deferred into IP 
Group equity through the grant of nil-cost options under the Group’s DBSP. The number of nil-cost options 
granted under the Group’s DBSP is determined by the share price at vesting date. The DBSP options are 
subject to further time-based vesting over two years (typically 50% after year one and 50% after year two). 

An analysis of movements in the DBSP options outstanding is as follows:

At 1 January

AIS deferral shares award during the year 

Exercised during the year 

Lapsed during the year

At 31 December

2016

187,869

781,148

(101,622)

(29,400)

837,995

2015

362,608

—

(174,739)

—

187,869

No associated expense has been incurred for the 2016 AIS as the financial performance targets were not 
achieved.

Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) 
Awards under the LTIP take the form of conditional awards of ordinary shares of 2p each in the Group which 
vest over the prescribed performance period to the extent that performance conditions have been met. 
The Remuneration Committee imposes objective conditions on the vesting of awards and these take into 
consideration the guidance of the Group’s institutional investors from time to time. Further information on the 
Group’s LTIP is set out in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 69 to 87.

The 2016 LTIP awards were made on 16 May 2016. The awards will ordinarily vest on 31 March 2019, to the 
extent that the performance conditions have been met. The awards are based on the performance of the 
Group’s Hard NAV and Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”). Both performance measures are combined into a 
matrix format to most appropriately measure performance relative to the business, as shown in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report within the Group’s 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. The total award is subject to an 
underpin based on the relative performance of the Group’s TSR to that of the FTSE 250 index, which can 
reduce the awards by up to 50%. The 2015 LTIP matrix is designed such that up to 100% of the award (prior 
to the application of the underpin) will vest in full in the event of both Hard NAV increasing by 15% per year 
on a cumulative basis, from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018, and TSR increasing by 15% per year on a 
cumulative basis from the date of award to 31 March 2019, using an industry-standard average price period at 
the beginning and end of the performance period. Further, the matrix is designed such that 30% of the award 
shall vest (again prior to the application of the underpin) if the cumulative increase is 8% per annum for both 
measures over their respective performance periods (“threshold performance”). A straight-line sliding scale is 
applied for performance between the distinct points on the matrix of vesting targets.

The 2015 LTIP awards were made on 21 May 2015. The awards will ordinarily vest on 31 March 2018, to the 
extent that the performance conditions have been met. The awards are based on the performance of the 
Group’s Hard NAV and Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”). Both performance measures are combined into a 
matrix format to most appropriately measure performance relative to the business, as shown in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report within the Group’s 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. The total award is subject to an 
underpin based on the relative performance of the Group’s TSR to that of the FTSE 250 index, which can 
reduce the awards by up to 50%. The 2015 LTIP matrix is designed such that up to 100% of the award (prior 

128

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

to the application of the underpin) will vest in full in the event of both Hard NAV increasing by 15% per year 
on a cumulative basis, from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017, and TSR increasing by 15% per year on a 
cumulative basis from the date of award to 31 March 2018, using an industry-standard average price period at 
the beginning and end of the performance period. Further, the matrix is designed such that 30% of the award 
shall vest (again prior to the application of the underpin) if the cumulative increase is 8% per annum for both 
measures over their respective performance periods (“threshold performance”). A straight-line sliding scale is 
applied for performance between the distinct points on the matrix of vesting targets.

The 2014 LTIP award was made on 31 March 2014. The awards will ordinarily vest on 31 March 2017, to the 
extent that the performance conditions have been met. The awards are based on the performance of the 
Group’s Hard NAV and Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”). Both performance measures are combined into a 
matrix format to most appropriately measure performance relative to the business, as shown in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report within the Group’s 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. The total award is subject to an 
underpin based on the relative performance of the Group’s TSR to that of the FTSE 250 index, which can 
reduce the awards by up to 50%. The 2014 LTIP matrix is designed such that up to 100% of the award (prior 
to the application of the underpin) will vest in full in the event of both Hard NAV increasing by 15% per year 
on a cumulative basis, from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016, and TSR increasing by 15% per year on a 
cumulative basis from the date of award to 31 March 2017, using an industry-standard average price period at 
the beginning and end of the performance period. Further, the matrix is designed such that 30% of the award 
shall vest (again prior to the application of the underpin) if the cumulative increase is 8% per annum for both 
measures over their respective performance periods (“threshold performance”). A straight-line sliding scale is 
applied for performance between the distinct points on the matrix of vesting targets.

The 2013 LTIP awards vested on 31 March 2016 and thereafter shares in IP Group were issued via the Group’s 
employee benefit trust to the relevant members of the Group’s staff accordingly. The table below sets out the 
performance measures relating to the 2013 LTIP awards and the actual performance achieved.

Performance condition

Hard NAV (at 31 Dec 2015)i

Annual TSRii 
(share price)

Comparative TSRii

Target 
performance

Actual 
performance

8%: £624m
15%: £712m

£714.3m
(15.2% p.a. growth)

8%: 180p
15%: 217p

FTSE 250
+29%

 175.1p
(7.2% p.a. growth

IP Group
+22%

i. 

ii. 

 Hard NAV target increased by Remuneration Committee to reflect £21.7m Fusion IP net assets acquired in 2014 and £276.1m net proceeds of 
the Group’s placings in 2014 and 2015.

 TSR performance shown reflects the Group’s one-month average share price to 26 February 2016. Actual performance period is the one-
month average to 31 March 2016.

The performance measures were achieved in full however the underpin was only partially achieved, as a result 
57.6% of the 2013 LTIP awards vested on 31 March 2015.

The movement in the number of shares conditionally awarded under the LTIP is set out below: 

At 1 January

Forfeited during the year

Vested during the year

Notionally awarded during the year

At 31 December

2016

2015

3,378,595

3,650,493

(493,959)

(39,876)

(457,877)

(1,552,144)

3,188,078

1,320,122

5,614,837

3,378,595

129

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Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

21. Share-Based Payments continued
The fair value of LTIP shares notionally awarded during 2016 was calculated using Monte Carlo pricing models 
with the following key assumptions:

Share price at date of award

Exercise price

Fair value at grant date

Expected volatility (median of historical 50-day moving average)

Expected life (years)

Expected dividend yield

Risk-free interest rate

2016

£1.558

£nil

£0.41

31%

2.83

0%

1.0%

2015

£2.188

£nil

£0.78

32%

2.83

0%

1.0%

Former Fusion IP LTIP
In 2014, three former employees of Fusion IP plc were each conditionally awarded 1,000,000 shares in Fusion 
IP plc under the Fusion IP LTIP. As part of the arrangements for the acquisition of Fusion IP plc, the Fusion 
IP LTIP awards were converted into awards over IP Group shares at the same conversion price per share as 
the scheme of arrangement was undertaken (0.446 IP Group plc shares for every Fusion IP plc share). The 
awards will vest on 31 December 2017 provided certain performance conditions are met which relate to, inter 
alia, the growth in value of Fusion IP plc’s net asset value (“Fusion NAV”) from the date of acquisition and the 
continued employment of the individual by the Group. In summary, if Fusion NAV growth of 10% per annum is 
achieved then 30% of an award shall vest. Maximum vesting will occur if Fusion NAV growth of 20% per annum 
is achieved with straight-line vesting between 30% and 100% if Fusion NAV growth of 10%-20% per annum is 
achieved. No vesting shall occur if Fusion NAV growth of less than 10% is achieved. 

The movement in the number of shares conditionally awarded under the Former Fusion IP LTIP is set out 
below: 

At 1 January

At 31 December

2016

2015

1,338,000

1,338,000

1,338,000

1,338,000

Fair value charge
The fair value charge recognised in the statement of comprehensive income during the year in respect of all 
share-based payments, including the DBSP, LTIP and Former Fusion IP LTIP, was £1.5m (2015: £1.5m).

130

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

22. Limited and Limited Liability Partnership Interests

At 1 January 2015

Additions during the year

Realisations in the year

Change in fair value during the year

At 1 January 2016

Additions during the year

Realisations in the year

Change in fair value during the year

At 31 December 2016

 £m

4.6

—

(0.6)

0.4

4.4

0.1

—

(0.3)

4.2

The Group considers interests in Limited and Limited Liability Partnerships to be Level 3 in the fair value 
hierarchy throughout the current and previous financial years. If the assumptions used in the valuation 
techniques for the Group’s holding in each company are varied by using a range of possible alternatives, 
there is no material difference to the carrying value of the respective spin-out company. The effect on the 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the period is also not expected to be material.

23. Related Party Transactions
The Group has various related parties arising from its key management, subsidiaries, equity stakes in portfolio 
companies and management of certain Limited Partnership funds.

a) Limited Partnerships
The Group manages a number of investment funds structured as Limited Partnerships. Group entities have 
a Limited Partnership interest (see note 1) and act as the general partners of these Limited Partnerships. 
The Group therefore has power to exert significant influence over these Limited Partnerships. The following 
amounts have been included in respect of these Limited Partnerships:

Statement of comprehensive income

Revenue from services

Statement of financial position

Investment in limited partnerships

Amounts due from related parties

2016
 £m

0.9

2016
 £m

2.8

0.2

2015
 £m

1.3

2015
 £m

3.1

—

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

131

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

23. Related Party Transactions continued
b) Key management personnel
i) Key management personnel transactions

Key management had investments in the following spin-out companies as at 31 December 2016:

Director/ 
Company 
Secretary

Alan Aubrey

Company name

Accelercomm Limited
Alesi Surgical Limited
Amaethon Limited — A Shares
Amaethon Limited — B Shares
Amaethon Limited — Ordinary shares
Avacta Group plc(iv)
Boxarr Limited
Capsant Neurotechnologies Limited
Cloud Sustainability Limited
Crysalin Limited
Diurnal Group plc
EmDot Limited
Empiricom Technologies Limited
Getech Group plc
Gunsynd plc (ii)
hVivo plc
Ilika plc
Karus Therapeutics Limited
Microbiotica Limited
Mirriad Advertising Limited
MDL 2016 Limited — Ordinary shares
MDL 2016 Limited — A shares
Modern Biosciences plc
Modern Water plc
Cronin Group plc
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited
Oxtox Limited
Perachem Holdings plc(v)
Revolymer plc
Salunda Limited
Structure Vision Limited
Surrey Nanosystems Limited
Tissue Regenix Group plc
Xeros Technology Group plc
Zeetta Networks Limited

Mike Townend Amaethon Limited — A Shares
Amaethon Limited — B Shares
Amaethon Limited — Ordinary shares
Applied Graphene Materials plc
Avacta Group plc(iv)
Capsant Neurotechnologies Limited
Cloud Sustainability Limited
Creavo Technologies Limited(i)
Crysalin Limited

132

Shares held at
1 January 
2016

Number 
of shares 
acquired/ 
(disposed) in 
the period

Number of 
shares held at 
31 December 
2016

—
18
104
11,966
21
202,761
1,732
11,631
26
1,447
15,000
15
—
15,000
767,310
37,160
69,290
223
—
33,333
3,226
229
1,185,150
519,269
2,172,809
101,208
25,363
108,350
88,890
53,639
212
453
2,389,259
40,166
212
104
11,966
21
—
9,314
11,282
25
117
1,286

333
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
119,965,724
—
—
—
—
—
3,750
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
(25,363)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
212
—
—
—
7,619
10,687
—
—
—
—

333
18
104
11,966
21
202,761
1,732
11,631
26
1,447
15,000
15
119,965,724
15,000
767,310
37,160
69,290
223
3,750
33,333
3,226
229
1,185,150
519,269
2,172,809
101,208
—
108,350
88,890
53,639
212
453
2,389,259
40,166
424
104
11,966
21
7,619
20,001
11,282
25
117
1,286

%

0.3%
0.2%
3.1%
1.0%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
<0.1%
0.9%
17.3%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.4%
0.5%
1.7%
0.7%
0.4%
0.4%
0.0%
0.8%
0.1%
<0.1%
1.0%
0.3%
0.3%
<0.1%
<0.1%
3.1%
1.0%
0.3%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.8%
0.4%
<0.1%
0.1%

25286-04    Proof 6  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

Director/ 
Company 
Secretary

Company name

Shares held at
1 January 
2016

Number 
of shares 
acquired/ 
(disposed) in 
the period

Number of 
shares held at 
31 December 
2016

Mike Townend Diurnal Group plc
continued

Greg Smith

EmDot Limited
Getech Group plc
hVivo plc
Ilika plc
Mirriad Advertising Limited
Mode Diagnostics Limited
Modern Biosciences plc
Modern Water plc
Cronin Group plc
Oxford Advanced Surfaces Limited
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited
Oxtox Limited
Perachem Holdings plc(v)
Revolymer plc
Structure Vision Limited
Surrey Nanosystems Limited
Tissue Regenix Group plc
Tracsis plc
Ultrahaptics Holdings Limited(iii)
Xeros Technology Group plc
Alesi Surgical Limited
Avacta Group plc(iv)
Capsant Neurotechnologies Limited
Cloud Sustainability Limited
Crysalin Limited
Diurnal Group plc
EmDot Limited
Encos Limited
Getech Group plc
hVivo plc
Perachem Holdings plc(v)
Mirriad Advertising Limited
MDL 2016 Limited — Ordinary shares
MDL 2016 Limited — A shares
Modern Biosciences plc
Modern Water plc
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited
Revolymer plc
Summit Therapeutics plc
Surrey Nanosystems Limited
Tissue Regenix Group plc
Xeros Technology Group plc

David Baynes Alesi Surgical Limited

Arkivum Limited
Creavo Technologies Limited(i)
Diurnal Group plc
Mirriad Advertising Limited
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited
Ultrahaptics Holdings Limited(iii)
Zeetta Networks Limited

15,000
14
20,000
37,160
10,000
25,000
1,756
1,185,150
575,000
932,944
5,000
30,967
25,363
113,222
35,940
212
404
1,950,862
25,430
35
35,499
2
3,904
896
8
149
15,000
4
5,671
8,000
61,340
4,830
16,667
361
28
313,425
7,250
1,581
4,500
798
88
50,000
1,392
4
377
46
73,000
16,667
155
26
212

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
(25,363)
—
29,000
—
—
—
(25,430)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
19
—
212

15,000
14
20,000
37,160
10,000
25,000
1,756
1,185,150
575,000
932,944
5,000
30,967
—
113,222
64,940
212
404
1,950,862
—
35
35,499
2
3,904
896
8
149
15,000
4
5,671
8,000
61,340
4,830
16,667
361
28
313,425
7,250
1,581
4,500
798
88
50,000
1,392
4
377
46
73,000
16,667
174
26
424

%

<0.1%
0.8%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.1%
1.7%
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.8%
<0.1%
1.0%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.2%
0.3%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.5%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

133

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

23. Related Party Transactions continued

Director/ 
Company 
Secretary

Company name

Angela Leach Alesi Surgical Limited

Avacta Group plc(iv)
Boxarr Limited
Capsant Neurotechnologies Limited
Cloud Sustainability Limited
Creavo Technologies Limited(i)
Cronin Group plc
Diurnal Group plc
Gunsynd plc(ii)
First Light Fusion Limited
Getech Group plc
hVivo plc
Mirriad Advertising Limited
MDL 2016 Limited — Ordinary Shares
MDL 2016 Limited — A Shares
Modern Water plc
Modern Biosciences plc
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited
Revolymer plc
Structure Vision Limited
Surrey Nanosystems Limited
Tissue Regenix Group plc
Ultrahaptics Holdings Limited(iii)
Xeros Technology Group plc

Shares held at
1 January 
2016

Number 
of shares 
acquired/ 
(disposed) in 
the period

Number of 
shares held at 
31 December 
2016

2
1,897
102
1,858
10
23
68,101
11,500
7,990
17
2,083
25,903
16,667
606
102
15,570
322,923
1,721
4,500
21
90
329,172
5
5,666

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
61
—
—
—
(52,381)
—
—

2
1,897
102
1,858
10
23
68,101
11,500
7,990
17
2,083
25,903
16,667
606
102
15,570
322,923
1,782
4,500
21
90
276,791
5
5,666

%

<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.2%
<0.1%
0.5%
<0.1%
<0.1%
0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%
<0.1%

i. 

Creavo Technologies Limited was formerly known as Quantum Imaging Limited.
Gunsynd plc was formerly known as Evocutis plc

ii. 
iii.  Ultrahaptics Holdings Limited was formerly known as Ultrahaptics Limited
iv.  Avacta Group plc had a share consolidation during the year 100:1
v. 

Perachem Holdings plc was formally known as Green Chemicals plc

134

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

ii) Key management personnel compensation

Key management personnel compensation comprised the following:

Short-term employee benefits(i)

Post-employment benefits(ii)

Other long-term benefits

Termination benefits

Share-based payments(iii)

Total

2016
 £000s

1,489

71

—

—

623

2,183

2015
 £000s

1,890

89

—

—

550

2,529

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

 Represents key management personnel’s base salaries, benefits including cash in lieu of pension where relevant, and the cash settled element 
of the Annual Incentive Scheme.

Represents employer contributions to defined contribution pension and life assurance plans

 Represents the accounting charge for share based payments, reflecting LTIP and DBSP options currently in issue as part of these schemes. See 
note 21 for a detailed description of these schemes.

c) Portfolio companies
The Group earns fees from the provision of business support services and corporate finance advisory to 
portfolio companies in which the Group has an equity stake. Through the lack of control over portfolio 
companies these fees are considered arms-length transactions. The following amounts have been included in 
respect of these fees:

Statement of comprehensive income

Revenue from services

Statement of financial position

Trade receivables

2016
 £m

1.6

2016
 £m

0.7

d) Subsidiary companies
Subsidiary companies that are not 100% owned either directly or indirectly by the parent Company have 
intercompany balances with other Group companies totalling as follows:

Statement of financial position

Intercompany balances with other Group companies

2016
 £m

10.7

2015
 £m

2.0

2015
 £m

1.5

2015
 £m

10.5

These intercompany balances represent funding loans provided by Group companies that are interest free, 
repayable on demand and unsecured.

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135

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the consolidated financial statements
CONTINUED

24. Capital Management
The Group’s key objective when managing capital is to safeguard the Group’s ability to continue as a going 
concern so that it can continue to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders.

The Group sets the amount of capital in proportion to risk. The Group manages the capital structure, 
and makes adjustments to it, in light of changes in economic conditions and the risk characteristics of its 
underlying assets. In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the amount of 
issued new shares or dispose of interests in more mature portfolio companies.

During 2016, the Group’s strategy, which was unchanged from 2015, was to maintain healthy cash and short-
term deposit balances that enable it to provide capital to all portfolio companies, as determined by the Group’s 
investment committee, whilst having sufficient cash reserves to meet all working capital requirements in the 
foreseeable future.

The Group has an external debt facility with associated covenants that are described in Note 18.

25. Capital Commitments
Commitments to university partnerships
A number of the Group’s partnerships with research intensive universities in the UK include certain 
arrangements to provide seed capital to spin-out companies arising from such universities. As at 31 December 
2016, the balances were as follows:

Partnership

University of Southampton(i)

King’s College London(ii)

University of York — CNAP(iii)

University of Leeds(iv)

University of Bristol(v)

University of Surrey(vi)

University of York(iii)

Queen Mary University of London(vii)

University of Bath(viii)

University of Glasgow(ix)

University of Manchester(x)

Year of 
commencement 
of partnership

Original 
commitment 
£m

Invested 
to date 
£m

Remaining 
commitment 
£m

2002

2003

2003

2005

2005

2006

2006

2006

2006

2006

2013

5.0

5.0

0.8

4.2

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

7.5

52.5

3.6

1.8

0.2

1.1

1.1

0.5

0.2

0.7

0.2

1.6

0.2

11.2

1.4

3.2

0.6

3.1

3.9

4.5

4.8

4.3

4.8

3.4

7.3

41.3

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

 Under the terms of an agreement entered into in 2002 between the Group, the University of Southampton and certain of the University 
of Southampton’s subsidiaries, IP2IPO Limited agreed to make £5.0m available for the purposes of making investments in University of 
Southampton spin-out companies. 

 Under the terms of an agreement entered into during 2003 between the Group and King’s College London (“KCL”) and King’s College London 
Business Limited (formerly KCL Enterprises Limited), the Group agreed to make £5.0m available for the purposes of making investments in 
spin-out companies. Under the terms of this agreement, KCL was previously able to require the Company to make a further £5.0m available for 
investments in spin-out companies on the tenth anniversary of the partnership. However, the 2003 agreement was terminated and replaced 
by a revised agreement between the same parties on 12 November 2010. Under the revised agreement, the Group agreed to target investing 
the remaining commitment of £3.2m over a three-year period; KCL cannot, however, require the Group to make any additional funds available. 
Other changes effected by the revised agreement included the removal of the Group’s automatic entitlement to initial partner equity in every 
spin-out company and/or a share of KCL’s licensing fees from intellectual property commercialisation and to the termination rights of the 
parties.

 In 2003, the Group entered into an agreement with the University of York. The agreement relates to a specialist research centre within the 
University of York, the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (“CNAP”). The Group has committed to invest up to a total of £0.8m in spin-out 
companies based on CNAP’s intellectual property. In 2006, the Group extended its partnership with the University of York to cover the entire 
university. The Group has committed to invest £5.0m in University of York spin-outs over and beyond the £0.8m commitment as part of the 
Group’s agreement with CNAP. The agreement with the University of York was amended during 2013 so as to alter the process by which the 
Group evaluates commercialisation opportunities and the level of initial partner equity the Group is entitled to as a result. Further, the Group’s 
automatic entitlement to share in any of the University of York’s proceeds from out-licensing has been removed from the agreement.

136

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Group Notes

iv. 

v. 

vi. 

vii. 

viii. 

ix. 

x. 

 The Group extended its partnership with the University of Leeds in July 2005 by securing the right with associated contractual commitment 
to invest up to £5.0m in University of Leeds spin-out companies. This agreement was varied in March 2011 to, amongst other things, remove 
the Group’s entitlement to a share of out-licensing income generated by the University of Leeds except in certain specific circumstances where 
the Group is involved in the relevant out-licensing opportunity. Under the terms of the variation agreement, subject to quality and quantity of 
the investment opportunities, the Group, IP Assist Services Limited and the University of Leeds have agreed to target annual investments of 
at least £0.7m in aggregate and, subject to earlier termination or the parties otherwise agreeing alternative target, to review this target on 30 
April 2017. 

 In December 2005, the Group entered into an agreement with the University of Bristol. The Group has committed to invest up to a total of 
£5.0m in University of Bristol spin-out companies. 

 Under the terms of an agreement entered into in 2006 between the Group and the University of Surrey, the Group has committed to invest up 
to a total of £5.0m in spin-out companies based on the University of Surrey’s intellectual property. 

 In July 2006, the Group entered into an agreement with Queen Mary University of London (“QM”) to invest in QM spin-out companies. The 
Group has committed to invest up to a total of £5.0m in QM spin-out companies. The agreement was amended in January 2014, primarily to 
remove the Group’s entitlement to licence fees save where it is involved in the development or licensing of the relevant IP and, in most cases, 
to replace the Group’s automatic entitlement to a share of the initial equity in any spin-out company with an equivalent warrant exercisable at 
the seed stage of the relevant company.

 In September 2006, the Group entered into an agreement with the University of Bath to invest in University of Bath spin-out companies. The 
Group has committed to invest up to a total of £5.0m in University of Bath spin-out companies. The agreement with the University of Bath was 
amended during 2009 so as to remove the Group’s automatic entitlement to a share of the initial equity or licence fees (as applicable) received 
by the University of Bath from the commercialisation of its intellectual property in the event that the Group and its employees have not been 
actively involved in developing the relevant opportunity.

 In October 2006, the Group entered into an agreement with the University of Glasgow to invest in University of Glasgow spin-out companies. 
The Group has committed to invest up to a total of £5.0m in University of Glasgow spin-out companies. 

 In February 2013, the Group entered into a commercialisation agreement with the University of Manchester. Initially the Group had agreed to 
make available an initial facility of up to £5.0m to provide capital to new proof of principle projects (excluding graphene projects) intended 
for commercialisation through spin-out companies. During January 2014, the Group extended its agreement to include funding for graphene 
projects; increased the capital commitment by a further £2.5m, bringing the total to £7.5m; and extended the agreement to 2019.

Commitments to limited partnerships
Pursuant to the terms of their Limited Partnership agreements, the Group has committed to invest the 
following amounts into Limited Partnerships as at 31 December 2016:

Partnership

IP Venture Fund

IP Venture Fund II L.P.

Year of 
commencement 
of partnership

Original 
commitment 
£m

Invested to 
date £m

Remaining 
commitment 
£m

2006

2013

3.1

10.0

13.1

3.0

3.9

6.9

0.1

6.1

6.2

26. Post Balance Sheet Events
Effective 31 January 2017, the Group acquired 100% of the shares of Parkwalk Advisors Limited, the UK’s 
leading university spin-out focussed EIS fund manager. This business will be consolidated in the Group’s results 
from the date of acquisition. The total maximum consideration payable is £20m over a three-year period. The 
initial consideration comprises £5m of cash, £2.5m in the form of newly-issued IP Group ordinary shares and 
a further £2.5m of cash payable in two equal instalments over two years, subject to certain conditions. The 
remaining £10m consideration is payable as £5m in cash and £5m in IP Group ordinary shares over a three-year 
period, subject to the acquired company achieving certain business performance targets. The Group is in the 
process of finalising the acquisition accounting and can therefore not provide any other reliable disclosure in 
line with IFRS 3 at this stage.

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137

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comCompany balance sheet
As at 31 December 2016

ASSETS

Fixed assets

Investment in subsidiary undertakings

Equity and debt investments

Other investments

Loans to subsidiary undertakings

Trade and other receivables

Total assets

EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Capital and reserves

Called up share capital

Share premium account

Merger reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity 

Non-current liabilities

Trade and other payables

EIB debt facility

Total liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

Registered number: 4204490

Note

2016
£m

2015
£m

2

3

4

5

6

6

6

6

127.6

1.0

0.6

409.0

0.1

538.3

11.3

504.7

12.8

(5.7)

523.1

0.3

14.9

15.2

127.6

1.1

0.6

409.8

0.1

539.2

11.3

504.7

12.8

(4.5)

524.3

—

14.9

14.9

538.3

539.2

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements. The financial statements on pages 
138 to 146 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 6 March 2017 and were signed 
on its behalf by:

Greg Smith
Chief Financial Officer

Alan Aubrey
Chief Executive Officer

138

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Company Statements

Statement of changes in equity 
As at 31 December 2016

At 1 January 2015

Comprehensive income

Issue of equity

At 1 January 2016

Comprehensive income

At 31 December 2016

Attributable to equity holders of the parent

Share 
capital 
£m

Share 
premium(i) 
£m

Merger 
reserve(ii) 
£m

Retained 
earnings(iii) 
£m

9.6

—

1.7

11.3

—

11.3

327.6

—

177.1

504.7

—

504.7

12.8

—

—

12.8

—

12.8

(2.1)

(2.4)

—

(4.5)

(1.2)

(5.7)

Total 
£m

347.9

(2.4)

178.8

524.3

(1.2)

523.1

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

Share premium — Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value, net of directly attributable issue costs.

 Merger reserve — Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value in relation to the qualifying acquisition of subsidiary 
undertakings.

 Retained earnings — Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income net of associated 
share-based payments credits.

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

139

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the Company financial statements 

1. Accounting Policies
These financial statements were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101 Reduced 
Disclosure Framework (“FRS 101”). The amendments to FRS 101 (2014/15 Cycle) issued in July 2015 and 
effective immediately have been applied.

In preparing these financial statements, the Company applies the recognition, measurement and disclosure 
requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU (“Adopted IFRSs”), but 
makes amendments where necessary in order to comply with Companies Act 2006 and has set out below 
where advantage of the FRS 101 disclosure exemptions has been taken.

Under section s408 of the Companies Act 2006 the company is exempt from the requirement to present its 
own profit and loss account.

In these financial statements, the company has applied the exemptions available under FRS 101 in respect of 
the following disclosures: a Cash Flow Statement and related notes; disclosures in respect of transactions 
with wholly owned subsidiaries; disclosures in respect of capital management; the effects of new but not yet 
effective IFRSs; and disclosures of compensation of Key Management Personnel.

As the consolidated financial statements include the equivalent disclosures, the Company has also taken the 
exemptions under FRS 101 available in respect of the following disclosures: IFRS 2 Share Based Payments 
in respect of group settled share based payments; and certain disclosures required by IFRS 13 Fair Value 
Measurement and the disclosures required by IFRS 7 Financial Instrument Disclosures.

The Company proposes to continue to adopt the reduced disclosure framework of FRS 101 in its next financial 
statements.

The accounting policies set out below have, unless otherwise stated, been applied consistently to all periods 
presented in these financial statements.

Investments 
Investments are held at fair value through profit and loss vision for impairment in value and are held for long-
term investment purposes.

The valuation methods applied are the same as those at the Group level; details of which can be found in note 
1 to the Group’s financial accounts on page 109 to 111.

Intercompany loans
All intercompany loans are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. 
Where intercompany loans are intended for use on a continuing basis in the Company’s activities, and there is 
no intention of their settlement in the foreseeable future, they are presented as fixed assets.

Financial instruments
Currently the Company does not enter into derivative financial instruments. Financial assets and financial 
liabilities are recognised and cease to be recognised on the basis of when the related titles pass to or from the 
Company. 

2. Investments in Subsidiary Undertakings 

At 1 January 2016

At 31 December 2016

Details of the Company’s subsidiary undertakings as at 31 December 2016 are detailed in Note 9 of the 
Company financial statements.

 £m

127.6

127.6

140

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Company Statements

3. Equity and debt investments 

At 1 January 2016

Change in fair value of equity and debt investments

At 31 December 2016

 £m

1.1

(0.1)

1.0

Details of the Company’s associated undertakings and significant holdings as at 31 December 2016 are detailed 
Note 10 of the Company financial statements.

4. Other Investments

At 1 January 2016

At 31 December 2016

5. Loans to Subsidiary Undertakings

At 1 January 2016

Repayment during the year

At 31 December 2016

 £m

0.6

0.6

 £m

409.8

(0.8)

409.0

The amounts due from subsidiary undertakings are interest free, repayable on demand and unsecured. 

6. Share Capital and Reserves

At 1 January 2016

Loss for the year

At 31 December 2016

Share 
capital 
£m

11.3

—

11.3

Share 
premium 
£m

504.7

—

504.7

Merger 
reserve 
£m

12.8

—

12.8

Profit 
and loss 
reserve 
£m

(4.5)

(1.2)

(5.7)

Details of the Company’s authorised share capital and changes in its issued share capital can be found in note 
19 to the consolidated financial statements. Details of the movement in the share premium account can be 
found in the consolidated statement of changes in equity.

7. Profit and Loss Account
As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company’s profit and loss account has not been 
included in these financial statements. The Company’s loss for the year was £1.2m (2015: £2.4m loss).

Details of the auditor’s remuneration are disclosed in note 6 to the consolidated financial statements.

8. Directors’ Emoluments, Employee Information and Share-Based 
Payments
The remuneration of the Directors is borne by Group subsidiary undertakings. Full details of their remuneration 
can be found in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 69 to 87. Full details of the share-based 
payments charge and related disclosures can be found in note 21 to the consolidated financial statements.

The Company had no employees during 2016 or 2015. 

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141

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the Company financial statements  
CONTINUED

9. Details of subsidiary undertakings

Name of subsidiary undertakings

IP2IPO Limited

IP2IPO Management Limited

IP2IPO Management II Limited

IP2IPO Management III Limited(ii)

IP2IPO Management IV Limited

IP2IPO Management V Limited(ii)

IP2IPO Management VI Limited

IP2IPO Management VII Limited

IP2IPO Management VIII Limited

IP2IPO Carry Partner Limited

IP2IPO Americas Limited

IP2IPO FI Limited

IP2IPO US Partners Limited

IP2IPO (Europe) Limited

IP2IPO Guarantee Limited(v)

IP Group Inc.

Top Technology Ventures Limited(iii)

Fusion IP plc(vi)

Fusion IP Sheffield Limited(vi)

Fusion IP Cardiff Limited(vi)

IP Venture Fund (GP) Limited(iii)

IP Venture Fund II (GP) LLP(iii)

IP Ventures (Scotland) Limited(iii)

North East Technology (GP) Limited(iii)

IP2IPO Portfolio (GP) Limited(iii)

IP Capital Limited(ii)

IP Assist Services Limited

MOBILion, Systems Inc

Modern Biosciences plc(iv)

PIMCO 2664 Limited(iv)

Modern Biosciences Nominees Limited(ii)

MBS Secretarial Limited(ii)

MBS Director Limited(ii)

MBS3 Limited(iv)

MBS4 Limited(iv)

IP2IPO Nominees Limited(ii)

IP2IPO Services Limited(ii)

LifeUK (IP2IPO) Limited(ii)

IP Industry Partners Limited(ii)

Proportion 
of ownership 
interest 
%(i)

Proportion 
of voting 
power held 
%(i)

 Proportion 
of nominal 
value held 
%

Direct/ 
Indirect 

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

63.2

61.1

61.1

61.1

61.1

61.1

61.1

61.1

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

63.2

74.9

74.9

74.9

74.9

74.9

74.9

74.9

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

63.2

84.9

63.0

63.0

63.0

63.0

63.0

63.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

142

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IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Company Statements

Name of subsidiary undertakings

 Union Life Sciences Limited — Ordinary shares

 Union Life Sciences Limited — Preference shares(ix)

Union Life Sciences Limited — Total

Biofusion Licensing (Sheffield) Limited(ii),(vi)

Fusion IP Nottingham Limited(ii),(vi)

Fusion IP Two Limited(ii),(vi)

Asterion Limited(vi)

Medella Therapeutics Limited(vi)

PH Therapeutics Limited(vi)

Extraject Technologies Limited(vi)

Progenteq Limited(vi),(viii)

Stratium Limited

IP Venture Fund II L.P.(vii)

Proportion 
of ownership 
interest 
%(i)

Proportion 
of voting 
power held 
%(i)

 Proportion 
of nominal 
value held 
%

95.0

100.0

95.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

66.8

60.0

60.0

60.0

60.0

52.9

33.3

95.0

100.0

95.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

66.8

60.0

60.0

60.0

60.0

52.9

33.3

95.0

100.0

99.9

100.0

100.0

100.0

66.5

60.0

60.0

60.0

60.0

52.9

33.3

Direct/ 
Indirect 

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

iv. 

All holdings are via Ordinary Shares unless separate classes are specified in the table.
Dormant/non-trading company.
Company/limited liability partnership engaged in fund management activity.
Company engaged in in-licensing of drugable intellectual property activity.
Company limited by guarantee.

v. 
vi.  Acquired as part of the Fusion IP plc acquisition.
vii. 

 As detailed in Note 1 of the Group financial statements, though less than 33.3% of beneficial and nominal interest is held by the Group, the 
Group’s position as fund manager to IP Venture Fund II L.P. means the Group fulfils the control criteria set out in IFRS10 and the fund is thus 
consolidated.

viii.  Not consolidated due to immateriality.
ix. 

Shares which have no economic or voting rights attributed to them.

All companies above have their registered offices at 24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND unless separately listed 
below:

 IP Group Inc: 1105 North Market Street, Suite 1800, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA.

 IP Ventures (Scotland) Limited: 50 Lothian Road, Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9WJ.

 IP Assist Services Limited: Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9DF.

 MOBILion Systems Inc.: 1105 N. Market St, Suite 1800, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA.

 Asterion Limited: The Sheffield Bioincubator, 40 Leavygreave Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, SE 7RD.

  Medella Therapeutics Limited: The Sheffield Bioincubator, 40 Leavygreave Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 

SE 7RD.

  PH Therapeutics Limited: The Sheffield Bioincubator, 40 Leavygreave Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire,  

SE 7RD.

 Extraject Technologies Limited: Suite 18, Cardiff Medicentre, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ.

 Progenteq Limited: Suite 18, Cardiff Medicentre, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ.

 Stratium Limited: 15th Floor, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff, CF24 0EB.

All companies above are incorporated in England and Wales with the exception of IP Ventures (Scotland) 
Limited which is incorporated in Scotland and IP Group Inc and MobilION Inc which were incorporated in 
Delaware, USA. 

All companies above undertake the activity of commercialising intellectual property unless stated otherwise. 
All companies are consolidated into the Group’s financial performance and position following the acquisition 
method bar those specified which are omitted due being immaterial.

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143

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the Company financial statements 
CONTINUED

10. Details of significant holdings and associated undertakings

Name of undertaking
IP Venture Fund(ii) 

Registered address
24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

 A Ordinary

 B Ordinary

 Ordinary

Absynth Biologics Limited

Biohub at Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4TG

Accelercomm Limited 

Actual Experience plc

 B Shares

 Ordinary shares

 Preferred Ordinary shares

2 Venture Road, Southampton Science Park, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 7NP

Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, Somerset, BA1 1UA

Alesi Surgical Limited

Cardiff Medicentre, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

Anacail Limited

R325 The Thompson Building, University Avenue, Glasgow,  G12 8QQ

Aperio Pharma Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Applied Graphene Materials plc

The Wilton Centre, Wilton, Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 4RF

Arkivum Limited

Avacta Group plc

Azellon Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Unit 20 Ash Way, Thorp Arch Estate, Wetherby, LS23 7FA

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Azuri Technologies Limited

St. John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS

Boxarr Limited

65 London Road, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1LJ

Capsant Neurotechnologies Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

C-Capture Limited

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Celltron Networks Limited

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Ceres Power Holdings plc

Viking House, Foundry Lane, Horsham, RH13 5PX

 A Ord shares

 Ordinary shares

Cloud Sustainability Limited

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 DF

A shares

Ordinary shares

Creavo Medical Technologies Limited Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Cronin Group plc

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

 A Shares

 B Shares

 C Ordinary shares

 D Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Crysalin Limited

 B Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Defenition Limited

Demasq Limited

Diurnal Group plc

Dukosi Limited

 A Preferred Shares

 Ordinary shares

Eight19 Limited

Emdot Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

The Sheffield Bioincubator, 40 Leavy Greave Road, Sheffield, S3 7RD

Cardiff Medicentre, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ

Unit 4 Bush House Cottages, Edinburgh Technopole, Milton Bridge, Penicuik, 
Midlothian, EH26 0BA

Unit 9a Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, 
Cambridgeshire, CB4 0FE

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Proportion 
of nominal 
value held

%(i)

10%

Held by 
Parent/
Group
Group

43.8%

Group 

100.0%

52.0%

62.0%

25.6%

24.9%

100.0%

57.0%

40.3%

43.5%

45.0%

40.8%

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

 42.5%

 Group

46.1%

20.8%

39.4%

23.1%

32.5%

26.5%

44.3%

50.0%

0.0%

40.8%

36.7%

30.0%

25.5%

100.0%

46.9%

47.2%

65.2%

34.5%

34.6%

22.6%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

27.0%

25.3%

100.0%

48.5%

48.5%

47.5%

45.0%

41.5%

31.1%

0.0%

28.1%

26.3%

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

Group

All holdings are via Ordinary Shares unless separate classes are specified in the table.

 A fund in which the Group is a limited partner. Proportion of nominal value stated is equivalent to capital contributed to the partnership  
in question.

i 

ii 

144

25286-04    Proof 6  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Our Financials Company Statements

Name of undertaking
 B Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Redeemable preference shares

Registered address

Empiricom Technologies Limited

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

 A Ord shares

 Ordinary shares

Encos Limited

Escubed Limited

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Unit 651 E-H Street 5, Thorp Arch Estate, Wetherby, LS23 7FZ

Exyn Technologies Inc 

417 North Eighth Street, Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA, 19801,USA

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

Fault Current Limited

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

The Maltings East Tyndall Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF24 5EZ

First Light Fusion Limited

Unit 10 Mead Road, Yarnton, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 1QU

 B Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Fluid Pharma Limited

 A Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Glythera Limited

Heliochrome Limited

 A Ordinary

 B Ordinary

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Inex Herschel Annex, Kings Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

I2L Research Limited

Capital Business Park, Wentloog, Cardiff, CF3 2PX

 Deferred shares

 Ordinary shares

Inhibox Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Intelligent Ultrasound Limited

Innovation Centre 99 Park Drive Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY

 B Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Ionix Advanced Technologies Limited Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Ixico plc

Lumiode, Inc

 A Shares

 B Shares

 C Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Magnomatics Limited

Marblar Limited

Medaphor Group plc

4th Floor, Griffin Court, 15 Long Lane, London, EC1A 9PN

1361 Amsterdam Ave, Suite 340, New York, NY 10027,USA

Park House, Bernard Road, Sheffield, S2 5BQ

Unit 4 Basepoint, Andersons Road, Southampton, SO14 5FE

The Cardiff Medicentre, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4UJ

Mirriad Advertising Limited

6th Floor One London Wall, London, EC2Y 5EB

 A Ords

 A Prefs

 Ordinary shares

MDL 2016 Limited

Modern Water plc

Oxehealth Limited

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

OxSyBio Limited

Convertible preference shares

Ordinary shares

Perachem Holdings plc

Perlemax Limited

1 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G1 2AP

Bramley House, The Guildway, Old Portsmouth Road, Guildford, GU3 1LR

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

The Sheffield Bioincubator, 40 Leavygreave Road, Sheffield, S3 7RD

Proportion 
of nominal 
value held

Held by 
Parent/
Group
72.1% Group

%(i)

41.4% Group

100.0% Group

45.2% Group

93.5% Group

47.5% Group

48.3% Group

20.0% Group

39.5% Group

97.0% Group

43.5% Group

44.0% Group

0.0% Group

36.0% Group

34.9% Group

100.0% Group

43.2% Group

43.9% Group

50.0% Group

23.1% Group

32.2% Group

40.0% Group

84.0% Group

13.3% Group

31.0% Group

0.0% Group

21.8% Group

21.8% Group

21.0% Group

70.0% Group

34.1% Group

34.2% Group

20.2% Group

49.9% Group

39.5% Group

100.0% Group

70.0% Group

33.3% Group

38.2% Group

33.0% Group

29.8% Group

36.4% Group

0.0% Group

37.9% Group

45.7% Group

40.1% Group

20.0% Parent

21.5% Group

70.0% Group

39.7% Group

39.8% Group

100.0% Group

24.1% Group

31.4% Group

34.5% Group

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

145

Stock Code: IPO   www.ipgroupplc.comNotes to the Company financial statements 
CONTINUED

10. Details of significant holdings and associated undertakings continued

Name of undertaking
 Ordinary shares

 Preference shares

 Series B Shares

 Series C shares

 Series C1 shares

Perpetuum Limited

 A Ordinary

 Ordinary shares

Phase Focus Limited

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

POLAR OLED Limited

Relitect Limited

Salunda Limited

 A Ordinary shares

 B Ordinary shares

 C Ordinary shares

 Non-Voting Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Seren Photonics Limited

Spinetic Energy Limited

Structure Vision Limited

 A Ordinary shares

 Ordinary shares

Registered address

2 Venture, Southampton Science Park, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 7NP

40 Leavy Greave Road, Sheffield, S3 7RD

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

1 West Regent Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G1 2AP

Unit 14a Oddington Grange, Weston-On-The-Green, Bicester, 
Oxfordshire, OX25 3QW

37b UK Technology Centre Pencoed Technology Park, Pencoed, Bridgend, 
Mid Glamorgan, CF35 5HZ

65-66 St. Mary Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 3JF

103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Surrey NanoSystems Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

 A Shares

 Ordinary shares

TheySay Limited

T-Phy Limited

Ubiquigent Limited

 Ordinary shares

  Preferred Shares

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

Dundee University Incubator Dundee Technopole, James Lindsay Place, 
Dundee, DD1 5JJ

Ultrahaptics Holdings Ltd

The West Wing, Glass Wharf, Bristol, BS2 0EL

Ultramatis Limited

Uniformity Labs, Inc

 Ordinary shares

 Preferred Shares

Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2

41400 Christy Street, Fremont, CA 94538, USA

Zeetta Networks Limited

24 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3ND

(i)  All holdings are via Ordinary Shares unless separate classes are specified in the table.

Proportion 
of nominal 
value held

Held by 
Parent/
Group
38.5% Group

%(i)

0.0% Group

13.4% Group

41.2% Group

0.0% Group

29.2% Group

26.1% Group

52.1% Group

39.0% Group

55.9% Group

32.7% Group

35.0% Group

25.3% Group

26.3% Group

57.4% Group

0.7% Group

100.0% Group

100.0% Group

56.9% Group

48.9% Group

24.9% Group

43.6% Group

17.4% Group

35.4% Group

21.6% Group

100.0% Group

43.7% Group

43.7% Group

31.8% Group

20.6% Group

34.6% Group

23.4% Group

30.1% Group

30.0% Group

25.1% Group

12.4% Group

48.2% Group

31.1% Group

(ii) 

 A fund in which the Group is a limited partner. Proportion of nominal value stated is equivalent to capital contributed to the partnership  

in question.

All companies above are incorporated in the United Kingdom with the exception of Exyn Technologies, Inc, 
Lumiode, Inc and Uniformity Labs, Inc which were incorporated in Delaware, USA. The significant influence 
noted above has been determined in line with IAS 28 and Schedule 4 of The Large and Medium-sized 
Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. 

146

25286-04    Proof 6  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

IP Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016Company information

Company registration number

04204490

Registered office

Directors

24 Cornhill

London

EC3V 3ND

Mike Humphrey (Non-executive Chairman)
Alan John Aubrey (Chief Executive Officer)
Michael Charles Nettleton Townend (Chief Investment Officer)
Gregory Simon Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
David Baynes (Chief Operating Officer)
Douglas Brian Liversidge CBE (Senior Independent Director)
Jonathan Brooks (Non-executive Director)
Professor Lynn Gladden CBE (Non-executive Director)
Dr Elaine Sullivan (Non-executive Director) 

Company secretary

Angela Leach

Brokers

Registrars

Bankers

Solicitors

Independent auditor

Numis Securities Limited
The London Stock Exchange Building
10 Paternoster Square 
London
EC4M 7LT

Capita Asset Services
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 4TU

Royal Bank of Scotland
PO Box 333
Silbury House
300 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes 
MK9 2ZF

Pinsent Masons LLP
30 Crown Place
Earl Street
London
EC2A 4ES

KPMG LLP
15 Canada Square
London
E14 5GL

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM

I

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IP Group plc 
24 Cornhill
London
EC3V 3ND

T +44 (0)20 7444 0050
F +44 (0)20 7929 6415

www.ipgroupplc.com

25286-04    Proof 7  4 April 2017 7:11 PM

25286-04    Proof 7 4 April 2017 7:11 PM