17 April 2013
Venture capital specialists Midven has appointed Tim Grasby as an investment manager.
Tim, from Solihull, comes from an academic and business background and said his long-term ambition had always been to work in the venture capital sector.
Midven provides investment to fast growing SMEs in the West Midlands through a team of investment managers, and has been successfully investing in the region for more than 20 years.
Tim said his background meant he has in-depth knowledge of some of the sectors in which Midven operates, as well as a practical understanding of business.
He spent seven years as an assistant professor at Warwick University, where his research was concerned with advanced semiconductor materials. Whilst at Warwick, Tim co-founded a photovoltaics company where he was chief scientific officer and technical director for which they secured multi-million pound investment. He also ran his own consultancy advising semiconductor companies and providing technical due diligence for potential investors.
“I didn’t want to be an academic all my life so I trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC and then spent a further two years in corporate finance with KPMG, so I have gained some pretty robust qualifications along the way.”
Tim has been recruited to further develop Midven’s partnership with Harwell Capital who source funding from beyond the UK, the Far East and Asia in particular, for technology focused SMEs. He will also provide investment and business knowledge to early stage and established SMEs across the West Midlands through Midven’s expanding portfolio of companies.
Midven chief executive Tony Stott said: “Helping businesses become more successful is as much about people as it is about finance. We have built a team of investment managers who have not only handled scores of transactions, but who also bring a broad range of operational and strategic expertise combined with a pragmatic, hands-on approach, and Tim’s background very much complements that skillset.”