Edinburgh Uni business formation unit spawns 40 companies

26/08/2010

Business development and research resources at Edinburgh University have helped with the incorporation of 40 new companies during the 2009-10 academic year.

The tally – which includes businesses formed both in the UK and abroad – is the highest number of businesses ever generated by a Scottish university in a single year, rising from 26 in the previous year and putting it among the top institutions in the UK.

Grant Wheeler, head of company formation and incubation at Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the university's commercialisation arm, said the result stemmed from years of work.

"We have made a significant commitment to develop the enterprise culture within the university over the past five years and are really starting to reap the benefit now," he explained.

"There are other factors, such as the recession. Students are increasingly unsure about where their futures lie and are taking matters into their own hands by setting up a business."

Ederyn Williams, director of academic commercialistation specialists, Warwick Ventures, called the tally an "amazing" achievement.

The new businesses include nine established by Edinburgh academics, 19 by students and 12 by external entrepreneurs who built their business through the ERI. The 2009-10 companies have already pulled in £3 million in funding from external sources.