Tate & Lyle plans £25m investment for research
The new investment fund, called Tate & Lyle Ventures, would be run independently from the company's corporate apparatus.
23/02/05 Tate & Lyle has said it wants to invest £25m in small start-up companies that are developing food ingredients and need big corporate backing to expand.
The sugar and starch producer said the new investment fund, called Tate & Lyle Ventures, would be run independently from the company's corporate apparatus. Two venture capitalists should be hired to run it by the middle of the year.
Mark Robinson, Tate's business development director, said the fund would only invest in companies "that support Tate & Lyle's strategic growth focus to deliver next-generation food and industrial ingredients".
Mr Robinson said the fund – which should be fully invested by 2010 – would add to Tate's existing research and development department, which has an annual budget of £17m.
