Private property company, Grosvenor, has set up an alternative investment team to back UK companies that use new technology to can ultimately help achieve national climate targets alongside commercial goals.
The group has £65 mln (€75 mln) to invest, and is part of a wider global strategy, said the company.
Revealing for the first time details of the UK programme, Grosvenor’s maiden investment is in software company, Demand Logic, whose product is designed to help enhance sustainable building management by reducing energy consumption and running costs.
GPUK as the unit is being called is mainly targeting businesses that are already or soon to be operational in the UK and raising capital at Seed to Series A stages.
Beyond early-stage companies, GPUK will also selectively back venture capital funds in order to accelerate market access and knowledge.
Andy Doyle, innovation director, Grosvenor Property UK, said: ‘We are backing innovations that will help us answer changing business, occupier and customer needs in an era of climate change.’
The company has made a number of such investments globally. Investee companies include retail tech startup NearSt in the UK and in Asia include co-living platform Dash Living, Dayta AI a retail in-store analytics firm and drone inspection specialist H3Dynamics.
