Two Aberdeen technology entrepreneurs have launched an investment fund with the aim of accelerating the energy transition.
Steve Gray and Stuart McLeod have started Ventex, a venture studio focussed on climate tech.
Both are well-known businessmen with Steve a founder of Aberdeenshire firm Rovop and Stuart previously leading oil and gas firm Qedi through its £33 million acquisition.
Ventex will run a global portfolio from Aberdeen and will primarily focus on repurposing companies, technologies, skills and experience in the existing supply chain to support the transition to net zero.
First two investments completed
The duo hope their investment model will replicate the success of unicorn businesses with billion-dollar valuations that have been created by American venture studios.
The business model wraps senior executive talent and investment around some of the country’s most promising companies.
It will also invest in early-stage companies with technologies which have significant potential to help solve the climate crisis.
The studio has already completed its first two investments, Aberdeen-based High Performance Robotics (HPR) and decommissioning-focussed artificial intelligence firm Rahd ai, which is headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Ventex co-founders business success
The managing partners have a track record of success and have both built global businesses in the past.
Steve was the founder and former chief executive of Aberdeenshire subsea robotics company Rovop.
He left Rovop, based in Westhill, in 2019 after building a workforce of more than 250 people and bringing together a fleet of in excess of 50 remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs).
Stuart is a serial entrepreneur and has enjoyed similar business success, most notably leading oil and gas completions and technology specialist Qedi through to its £33m acquisition by Amec in 2011.
Focus on repurposing companies
They believe that by “refounding and repurposing” high potential businesses, Ventex can unlock significant value and help anchor renewable energy jobs in communities that already have most of the skills and infrastructure to drive a faster transition.
Stuart said: “Scaling repurposed solutions at the pace required by the climate emergency enables Ventex to unlock value in the new industrial revolution.
“Rather than relying solely on start-ups, which burn cash and have higher barriers to entry to build trust and credibility, we will leverage the track record of proven concepts.
“The valuation multiples for many energy service companies have hit an all-time low due to the current political environment in the UK.
“By opening up renewable energy opportunities for our portfolio, Ventex secures a dramatic upgrading of their valuation multiples, unlocking long-term value, enabling access to growth capital and rerating the economic trajectory of entire communities.”
Traditional venture studios focus on investing in high-growth start-up companies. Ventex is disrupting this model by targeting mature businesses with high transition potential, through which they deploy technology faster.
Steve said: “A generation of oil and gas service companies have been left in a decade long permafrost.
“This began with the downturn in 2014, followed by Covid just as recovery had begun, and then the current political environment.
“This has starved companies of the capital, skills and courage they need to take advantage of the transition.
“The energy transition and journey to net zero represent the largest industrial and investment opportunity globally, but investment is held back by a dichotomy; a toxic political environment around oil and gas on the one hand, and the difficult financial metrics around renewables on the other.
“By underpinning a validated venture studio playbook, or growth strategy, with the track record of delivery, cashflow, and customers of a mature business, we solve that dichotomy.”
Ventex is currently finalising its leadership board and will be announcing further investments in the coming weeks.
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