New investment firm with £1.5m per deal firepower sets up in the North East

A new investment firm with the ability to back highly innovative manufacturers with up to £1.5m per deal has been established in the North East.

EverQuest Capital Partners will target high growth supply chain firms across the region that are innovating around advanced manufacturing processes, design and materials. The venture capital and private equity specialist can invest up to £1.5m per deal, with the potential for that to raise in the future.

The business has formed what it calls a strategic partnership with the Redcar-based Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), which it says will supply it with off-market deal flow and connect companies with specialist technical expertise as well as equipment at the centre's facilities across the North East which provide specialisms in sustainable materials, pharmaceutical, advanced manufacturing, energy, and AgriTech.

EverQuest's team comes with 30 years' experience in investing, having previously worked on the backing of firms such as metals recycling innovator Descycle; robotic wire harness manufacturer Q5D Technology and life sciences firm Qkine. They are looking to back businesses with "enabling technologies" that could disrupt industries such as semiconductors, renewables, energy storage, healthcare, defence and automotive.

Stephane Mery, partner at EverQuest Capital Partners, said: “Today is a hugely exciting day as we launch EverQuest Capital Partners, the first fund to focus on Deep MakeTech. Deep MakeTech is the field where advanced processes, designs and materials converge to disrupt existing markets by transforming the way things are developed and made. This is an exciting market, and many disruptive firms have come from this field in recent years, including Tesla, AMSL and Moderna.

"We want to help companies with bright ideas realise their potential and open doors for them that will accelerate those products and processes to market. We are also announcing today a unique strategic partnership with CPI. This means we aren’t just bringing financial benefit; we’re also able to give companies access to some of the best technical people in the country as well as state-of-the-art equipment to test and hone their ideas."

Frank Millar, CEO at CPI, said: "We are excited to partner with EverQuest Capital Partners in launching this unique fund. Their commitment to driving investment in advanced manufacturing and deep technologies supports CPI’s purpose of turning bright ideas into impactful, market-ready solutions. Advanced manufacturing technologies have the power to not only change the way we make and manufacture things in the UK but to also provide many of the answers society needs in finding solutions to global problems like climate change.