Ignite, one of Europe’s leading accelerator programmes, headquartered in North East England, has announced that its alumni companies have collectively surpassed £100m in exits since the accelerator’s inception in 2011.
This landmark achievement underscores Ignite’s critical role in supporting early stage UK startups.
Recent successful exits include:
- GridFinder, acquired by US-based motorsports venture group, RAFA Racing Club, 19 months after first receiving local angel investment
- Writefull, recently acquired by AI company Digital Science
- Guardian Angel, acquired by Octopus Group after growing its customer base to more than 220,000 customers
- Overwatch Research acquired by R&D cloud company, Benchling
Since its founding, Ignite has supported over 500 founders, providing them with essential mentoring, workshops, and connections to experienced entrepreneurs and investors. Ignite alumni have gone on to raise over £200m in early stage funding, operate across the globe and created hundreds of jobs in high growth industries.
Other Ignite alumni including PolyBox, PulmoBioMed and SQCDP have all made headlines in recent months with successful pre-seed stage raises.
The Ignite programme first launched in Newcastle in 2011, and has since delivered startup programmes in Belfast, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Dublin and Cambridge.
Returning to the North East in 2021, Ignite’s most recent programmes were supported by the North East Combined Authority and Barclays Eagle Labs. The accelerator is renowned for its comprehensive support and strong network of angels, founders, advisors, talent and alumni.
Jo York, CEO of Ignite, said: “Reaching over £100 million in exits is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the startups we’ve supported. Our mission has always been to empower founders to realise their visions and see their startups as global from day one. This milestone is a proud moment for our team past and present.”
Tristan Watson, chair of Ignite and one of the programme’s original co-founders, added, “The success stories of GridFinder, Writefull, Guardian Angel, and Overwatch Research are just a few examples of the potential within the UK startup ecosystem. We remain committed to fostering the next wave of innovative startups wherever in the UK they are based.”
Ignite’s impact goes beyond financial metrics; the accelerator has cultivated a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, significantly contributing to the economic development and employment within each of the regions it has supported over the years.
The programmes graduates were full of praise for Ignite’s work.
Tom Bunten, CEO of Gridfinder, which took part in the 2022 Pre-Accelerator and Accelerator programmes, added: “Ignite taught us to think globally. Gridfinder is a regional business, but it has access to an international market. This realisation transformed our business strategy and empowered us to access a whole host of incredible opportunities, ultimately growing Gridfinder to a successful exit.”
Stephen “Mitch” Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of SQCDP, which took part in the 2023 Accelerator Programme, said: “We’ve seen that we can solve problems for manufacturers close to home here in the North East and are now in a position to start to scale. We learned loads through the Ignite programme and in raising our pre-seed round. The investment will help us start onboarding new customers remotely and grow the team.”
Rojin Yarahmadi, CEO of Polybox, which took part in the 2023 Accelerator programme, added: “The support from Ignite was instrumental in our success. The mentoring and resources provided by the programme gave us the foundation we needed to secure significant funding and scale our business.”
The final Ignite North East Accelerator of its most recent phase comes to a close today (September 30). The programme supported eight North East startups as they prepare to fundraise, including facilitating meetings and introductions to investors and partners in San Francisco.
