24 Jan 2008
ICON secure £2.7 Million investment for MMIC Solutions Ltd, the Ledbury, UK based supplier of innovative module and subsystem solutions for commercial millimetre wave applications.
New investor YFM Group and existing investor Scottish Enterprise investing through the Scottish Venture Fund, joined the round along with the company’s other existing investors, including NESTA and AEGF.
Having raised seed funding of more than £1.5M so far, the company has already developed and sold 94GHz receivers to a number of manufacturers of millimetre wave security imaging systems. The ability to use millimetre waves to detect non-metallic materials concealed about the body including weapons, explosives, and illegal goods is generating a lot of interest, with systems being deployed at many commercial and civic infrastructure locations, and at airports in the US and Europe.
The company is also developing low cost modules for high capacity communications applications. These links support data rates of 1Gbit/sec and more, and operate in various unlicensed and ‘light-licensed’ bands between 60 and 80GHz.
Rodger Sykes, CEO of MMIC Solutions, commented “We are very pleased by the investment community’s interest in MMIC Solutions, and the continuing confidence shown by our existing investors. The demand for our innovative technology continues to grow in applications such as weapons detection and high bandwidth communications, and this significant investment allows us to expand our team and production capabilities to address the many opportunities our customers are presenting to us.”
Julian Dennard, Senior Investment Manager of YFM Group commented; “MMIC Solutions’ unique capabilities are enabling new solutions to directly address global trends in security, weapon detection, and escalating wireless bandwidth needs. We are pleased to be a part of their growth to exploit these opportunities.”
Jonathan Lloyd-Hirst, Investment Manager for the Scottish Venture Fund, added; ”By establishing its UK production operations in Scotland, MMIC Solutions joins the growing number of cutting edge technology companies choosing Scotland as their base. Innovative companies such as MMIC Solutions demonstrate the high calibre of investment opportunities for our investment partners.”
About MMIC Solutions
MMIC Solutions Ltd. is fast becoming a global leader in the millimeter wave industry, developing solutions for equipment makers in several markets including security imaging, high bandwidth communications, and high-resolution radar. The company designs, manufactures, and supplies innovative solutions for a range of systems operating at frequencies between 50GHz and 250GHz. For more information about MMIC Solutions Ltd, please visit mmicsolutions.com YFM GroupYFM Group – is the UK’s most active investor in the small and medium enterprise marketplace. YFM Group manages in excess of £300 million of funds with investment sizes ranging from £50,000 to £5 million. YFM Group’s fund management subsidiaries, YFM Private Equity Limited and YFM Venture Finance Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For more information visit: yfmgroup.co.uk
About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main enterprise, innovation and investment agency and is focused on supporting business growth and developing a competitive business environment. Working in partnership with industry, academia and the public sector, SE aims to play its part in delivering the Scottish Government’s new economic strategy to increase productivity in Scotland by helping businesses grow, encouraging greater innovation and creating the right conditions for companies to access property, markets and finance. Further information can be found at scottish-enterprise.com
Scottish Venture Fund provides investments of up to £2m per transaction in partnership with the private sector on at least a matched funding basis in syndicated transactions, typically, between £2m and £10m. Further information on Scottish Enterprise investments is available at scottish-enterprise.com/equity-funding