Queen’s University’s spin-out companies are on course for a record turnover of £90 million this year.  The businesses, created by the University’s venture spin-out company QUBIS Ltd, represent a significant proportion of new high technology companies in Northern Ireland.

And – for the second year running – Queen’s has emerged as the leading higher education institution in the United Kingdom in terms of the annual turnover of its spin-out businesses.

The league tables are included in the most recent Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey published jointly by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Panos Lioulias, Chief Executive of QUBIS Ltd, said: “These are the latest in a series of milestones which underlines the University's role as a major driving force in local economic prosperity and illustrates  the quality and entrepreneurial spirit of Queen's researchers.

“In September last year the Sunday Times described Queen’s as ‘a casebook study of how a university can help drive the regeneration of the city and region in which it is located’. The role of the University’s spin-out companies in wealth and job creation is one of the most tangible ways in which we make this contribution.

“We are likely to see the creation of more companies emanating from the University’s leading-edge research in the near future.”

The QUBIS Ltd companies, in industry sectors such as software, chemicals and engineering, have created more than 1000 jobs.  More than 90 per cent of the companies’ products and services are exported around the world.

Media enquiries to Anne Langford, Press and PR Unit on + 44 (0) 28 9097 5310 or email a.langford@qub.ac.uk

Emer Campbell (22), who recently accepted a post with Kainos, one of Queen’s earliest and most successful spin-outs, is the 1,000^th person to be appointed to one of the businesses created by Queen’s venture spin-out company QUBIS Ltd. Emer will join SpeechStorm, the speech recognition division of Kainos, as a software engineer. From Brookeborough, Co. Fermanagh, Emer will graduate with First Class Honours in Computing Science at Queen’s next Wednesday.

Queen’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson said the historic appointment was further evidence of the University’s leading role as a significant force in wealth and job creation.

He said: “Transforming research into wealth-creating businesses is one of the most tangible examples of a university’s contribution to society.

“Last year Queen’s emerged as the leading higher education institution in the UK in terms of the annual turnover of spin-out businesses formed by QUBIS Ltd, and second to Cambridge for the number of jobs which these companies have created.”

Panos Lioulias, Chief Executive of QUBIS Ltd, said: “This landmark illustrates the quality and entrepreneurial spirit of Queen’s researchers. It can only enhance our confidence in the future as more successful businesses emanate from the University’s leading-edge research.”

Kainos Chief Executive Brendan Mooney said: “Kainos has built a culture that attracts the best and brightest IT professionals in the market. In the past year we’ve increased our headcount by almost 40 per cent to 220 employees. Kainos’ recent investment in SpeechStorm has accounted for much of this increase. Queen’s University has always been an excellent source of high-quality and talented graduates for Kainos and we’re delighted to be able to celebrate this significant milestone with QUBIS.”    

Emer said she felt “very privileged” to be the 1000^th employee of QUBIS. She added: “I worked for Kainos during my placement year and it was great fun. There is an open and friendly atmosphere and I felt valued from the outset. I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and am confident that my career is heading in the right direction.”

Since its establishment in 1984, QUBIS has created some 50 high technology companies. These companies, in industry sectors such as software, chemicals and engineering, represent a significant proportion of the high technology companies in Northern Ireland.

Media enquiries to Anne Langford, Press and PR Unit on + 44 (0) 28 9097 5310 or email a.langford@qub.ac.uk

Queen’s University has emerged as the leading higher education institution in the United Kingdom in terms of the annual turnover of spin-out businesses formed by its venture capital company, QUBIS Ltd, and second to Cambridge for the number of jobs which these companies have created.

The league tables are included in the most recent Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey published jointly by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The figures, for the 2003-2004 academic year, give the turnover for Queen’s companies as £49.6 million, placing the University first out of 164 higher education institutions. The turnover figure has since risen to around £66 million.

The number of those employed by the University’s spin-outs, recorded in the league tables as 761, is now 864.

Panos Lioulias, Chief Executive of QUBIS Ltd, said the results underlined the University’s role as a major contributor to local economic development and illustrated the quality and entrepreneurial spirit of Queen’s researchers.

He said: “This kind of success does not happen in a vacuum. Just last month, Queen’s was invited to join the Russell Group, the Ivy League of UK universities, acknowledging its role as a world-class centre of excellence in research and education. These figures from the HEFCE survey also point to the innovation and commitment of our academic staff, as well as the vision and business acumen of our partners and investors.”

QUBIS Chairman Professor Bryan Keating said: “These rankings are a vote of confidence in the future for Queen’s spin-out companies and we are very excited by the possibilities that lie ahead for us. We hope to create many more entrepreneurs for Queen’s and Northern Ireland as we continue to pioneer the transformation of university research to local wealth and job creation. In the near future, we are likely to see the creation of more companies emanating from the University’s leading-edge research.”

Since its establishment in 1984, QUBIS has created some 50 high technology companies. One of the most successful of these is Andor Technology which was successfully floated on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2004 – the first flotation of a university spin-out company in Northern Ireland.

For further information contact:

Panos Lioulias, Tel 028 9068 2321
Anne Langford, Tel 028 9097 5310

Queen’s University spin-out company Avalon Instruments Ltd has been acquired by global technology leader PerkinElmer in a deal which will open up new world markets for the Belfast-based firm. 

Avalon Instruments emanated from Andor Technology Ltd and Queen’s School of Chemistry expertise in Raman spectroscopy – a laser technique which identifies and characterises the composition of both organic and inorganic materials.  The product range developed can be used in a wide range of applications, including pharmaceuticals, forensics and academia. 

The firm was set up in 2000 with start-up funding from the University Challenge Fund (NI) and Queen’s seed capital company QUBIS Ltd.  It subsequently attracted follow-on investment from Crescent Capital and Invest Northern Ireland. 

PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global technology leader driving growth and innovation in health sciences and photonics markets (which include sensors and specialty lighting) to improve the quality of life.  The company, which reported revenues of $1.5 billion in 2005, has 8,000 employees serving customers in more than 125 countries. 

QUBIS Chief Executive Panos Lioulias described the news as “an excellent result”. He said: “This acquisition by a major multi-national company is a very positive development for Avalon and for Northern Ireland as a whole.  It reflects the value of the technology developed by Avalon and will ensure a global marketplace for the cutting-edge products developed by this small company.” 

The news was also welcomed by Dr Andrew Dennis, Managing Director and Founder of Avalon Instruments, who said: “We are excited to join PerkinElmer and to contribute to their innovative approach to product development and continuous improvement, along with becoming part of a global leader in customer service and support.” 

Avalon’s products sell into markets across the world, including the pharmaceutical industry in the United States, the Japanese material science market and the oil industry and diamond trade in the Middle East. 

For further information contact:

Anne Langford, Tel 028 9097 5310

Queen’s University’s venture capital company QUBIS Ltd is on course for record turnover this year, its Chief Executive Panos Lioulias has said.

Mr Lioulias said: “We have reached a historic milestone with the turnover for our companies exceeding £50 million for the first time. This is a remarkable achievement which illustrates the innovation, commitment and entrepreneurial spirit of Queen’s researchers and the vision and business acumen of our partners and investors.

"We are entering an exciting new phase of activity where we can build on our spin-out activity and business start-ups by making strategic investments in companies which are proven success stories. We hope to create many more entrepreneurs and we are very excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.”

Two QUBIS companies, Meridio and Lagan Technologies Ltd, featured in the top 10 of the Deloitte Touche Fast 50, which lists the fastest growing technology companies for Ireland, and were also placed in the prestigious Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 in the United Kingdom.

QUBIS currently has 43 high value, high technology, globally trading spin-out companies employing more than 850 staff.  These companies represent a significant proportion of the high technology companies in Northern Ireland and have a growing wealth creation role in the economy.

One of the most successful of these companies is Andor Technology which was successfully floated on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2004 – the first flotation of a university spin-out company in Northern Ireland.

For further information contact:

Panos Lioulias, Tel 028 9068 2321
Anne Langford, Tel 028 9097 5310