§ Mr. HoramTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1997,Official Report, column 106, on finance for high tech start-ups, if he will list the membership of the high level group mentioned in the reply. [22360]
§ Mr. Geoffrey RobinsonI am sponsoring a group examining the financing of high-technology companies, particularly in the start-up stage. This group is being chaired by Dr. Keith McCulloch, Chief Executive of British Biotech plc. The other members of the Group are as follows:
- Dr. Peter Williams—Executive Chairman, Oxford Instruments plc;
- Mr. Geoff Lindey—Head of UK Institutional Investment, JP Morgan;
- Mr. David Quysner—Managing Director, Abingworth Management Ltd;
- Mr. Derek Higgs—Chief Executive, Prudential Portfolio Managers;
- Sir David Cooksey—Chairman, Advent Ltd;
479 - Mr. Peter Meinertzhagen—Chairman, ABN Abro Hoare Govett;
- Mr. Peter Agar—Deputy Director General, Confederation of British Industry;
- Mr. Mike Smith—Head of Business Finance Division, Bank of England;
- Dr. Herman Hauser—Director, Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd;
- Mr. Richard Regan—Head of Investment Affairs, Association of British Insurers;
- Ms Christine Soden—Finance Director, Chiroscience plc;
- Mr. Ian Armitage—Mercurey Asset Management Group plc;
- Mr. Craig Pickering—Head of Industry Team, HM Treasury;
- Dr. Alistair Keddie—Director of Innovation Unit, Department of Trade and Industry.
The group aims to identify barriers that exist in relation to the financing of high technology companies, and has been asked to make practical proposals within six months.