UK venture capital firm Arix looks to Nasdaq to rebuild portfolio after losses
UK venture capital firm Arix Bioscience is looking to the US for “undervalued opportunities” in a bid to rebuild its portfolio value after losses this year.
The London-listed fund has lost £25m from its portfolio value so far this year, it revealed its in half-year results yesterday, as the pandemic momentum behind acquisitions wanes.
The company is now looking to the Nasdaq to bolster its portfolio in the short term, having uninvested in two biotech firms over the past six months, Arix CEO, Robert Lyne, told City PM yesterday.
“At the moment we still find that Nasdaq is the preeminent market for listing individual biotechs… There is greater depth of analyst coverage on the Nasdaq and greater support for these types of businesses,” said Lyne, who has spent the past decade on London’s venture capital scene.
Speaking of the US market, Lyne added: “There’s been ups and downs but there’s certainly been a market where when we deliver, we get great support.”
The venture capital boss explained that while London has a “good history” in supporting diversified investment vehicles, the US market is better for biotech companies as “shares will respond” to greater analyst coverage.
While the fund is on the “hunt for opportunities in Europe and North America”, Lyne noted that “anything more that the [UK] regulators can do to support investment would be greatly welcomed.”