Don't invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
Estimated reading time: 2 min
Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
- You could lose all the money you invest
- If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
- You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- You won’t get your money back quickly
- Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
- The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
- The value of your investment can be reduced
- The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
- These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
| Sector: | University spinouts |
|---|---|
| Target return: | Not specified |
| Minimum investment: | £25,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 18 to 24 months |
| Next deadline: | Discretionary |
Important documents
| Sector: | University spinouts |
|---|---|
| Target return: | Not specified |
| Minimum investment: | £25,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 18 to 24 months |
| Next deadline: | Discretionary |
Important documents
Previously known as the University of Oxford Innovation Fund, the Oxford Venture Fund is the seventh fund from the partnership between Parkwalk Advisors and the University of Oxford. It offers Oxford alumni and investors an opportunity to invest in startups and early-stage science and technology companies from the University of Oxford.
This is the first time the fund is fundraising since 2023.
Previous iterations of the fund have invested a total of £12.4 million in 30 companies and generated exit proceeds of £4.0 million. The remaining unrealised portfolio is valued at £7.3 million (July 2026). Past performance is not a guide to the future; there have also been failures.
Across its EIS funds, Parkwalk has invested £517.4 million in 217 companies. Of this, £208.4 million has been realised with a remaining portfolio balance of £312.3 million (August 2026).
- Aims to be fully invested within 18 to 24 months, not guaranteed
- Target return is unspecified
- Estimated holding period of four to 10 years, not guaranteed
- Target portfolio size of five to 10 (minimum of five) companies
- Minimum investment of £25,000 – you can apply online
- Deadline: Discretionary
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not a personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. Investments are for the long term. They are high risk and illiquid and can fall as well as rise in value: you could lose all the money you invest.
The manager
Parkwalk Advisors is a specialist university spinout investor with c.£500 million of assets under management. It was founded in 2009 and in 2017 was acquired by IP Group, a London-listed specialist IP commercialisation company with a market capitalisation of c.£641.4 million (August 2026) and net assets of £975.1 million (December 2025). IP Group also acquired Touchstone Innovations, a commercialisation company with close links to Imperial College and University College London.
The combined group gives Parkwalk a strong hand when accessing deal flow and negotiating terms, as well as providing a possible exit route.
The investment team consists of seven investment professionals including founder Moray Wright and Chief Investment Officer John Pearson.
Before your subscription is invested, the cash will be held by the custodian, Apex Unitas Limited. After investment, shares will be held by the nominee, MNL (Parkwalk) Nominees Limited.
Investment strategy
The fund looks to invest in a portfolio of five to 10 (minimum of five) early-stage, high-growth, research-intensive companies principally spun out from the University of Oxford. The fund may also invest in other science and innovation opportunities from the wider Oxford network.
Companies will often address significant issues such as health and longevity, renewable energy, decarbonisation, clean water and nutrition. Previous funds have invested in companies in areas such as quantum computing, AI, vaccines, robotics and energy generation.
The fund will consider both new spinouts and follow-on investments. Parkwalk aims to select portfolio companies across sectors to offer investors some diversification, however, there is no restriction on the amount that can be invested in any one investment.
Most deals are expected to be EIS qualifying, however, there could be some exposure to SEIS.
The fund may invest alongside other university-controlled funds.
Portfolio
The fund aims to provide each investor with a diverse portfolio of five to 10 early-stage, high-growth, research-intensive companies principally spun out from the University of Oxford.
Top 10 sector breakdown by investment cost (%)
Source: Parkwalk, as at July 2026.
Below are portfolio company examples from previous iterations of the fund. They are outlined to give a flavour of the types of companies you might expect but are unlikely to be part of a new investor's portfolio.
Examples of portfolio companies
Recent investment
Marley Health
Demand for pet healthcare has increased significantly in recent years, creating opportunities for technologies that can help improve clinical outcomes and ease pressures on veterinary services. Marley Health is seeking to capture this demand.
Built on machine learning expertise from the University of Oxford, the company is developing an AI-powered platform to help identify pet health issues earlier and support proactive care. Its first product is a smart collar that monitors key health indicators, including heart and respiratory rates, helping detect potential signs of illness and providing insights for pet owners and veterinary professionals.
Parkwalk Advisors and the University of Oxford invested £432,000 in January 2026 to support the continued development of the company’s technology and commercial growth.
Brainomix
Since its spinout from the University of Oxford in 2010, Brainomix has developed AI-powered software that helps clinicians analyse medical scans more quickly and consistently, supporting faster treatment decisions for stroke and lung disease.
Its flagship stroke platform uses artificial intelligence to assess brain scans and identify patients who may benefit from interventions such as thrombectomy, a procedure to remove a blood clot from the brain. The platform has been adopted by healthcare providers in more than 30 countries and has supported the assessment of over 60,000 patients. More recently, the company has expanded into the detection and monitoring of lung disease.
Parkwalk Advisors and the University of Oxford invested in 2014, with their £700,000 initial investment currently valued at 1.4x (June 2026). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Example of previous exit
Refeyn
Identifying and measuring protein molecules is an integral part of life sciences research, particularly in the development of new medicines. Refeyn is commercialising disruptive technology that uses light to measure a molecule’s mass (mass photometry). This allows users to characterise molecules significantly faster and at a lower cost than existing techniques.
The technology proved particularly valuable in Covid-19 research, overcoming some of the problems in analysing SARS CoV-2 spike (S) protein. By the time of the exit, Refeyn had launched an industrial version of its mass photometry instrument and a gene therapy focused product.
Parkwalk first invested through the Oxford Innovation IV Fund in 2018, and participated in subsequent funding rounds. The fund sold its holdings for a 10.3x return in September 2022. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Example of previous failure
1715 Labs
As with any early-stage investment, not all will work out. An example is 1715 Labs.
1715 Labs was spun out of the University of Oxford to help businesses tackle one of the biggest challenges in artificial intelligence: creating the high-quality labelled data needed to train algorithms effectively. The company commercialised technology developed for Zooniverse, a research platform that had already generated more than 500 million data labels across hundreds of scientific projects.
Despite early traction, the company struggled to establish product-market fit and, after struggling to attract further funding, it was liquidated.
Parkwalk originally invested £250,000 in October 2020. The holding was written down to nil in 2023.
Performance
Previous iterations of the fund have invested a total of £12.4 million in 30 companies. The fund has to date realised proceeds of $4.0 million from 13 exits: two above cost, 10 below, and one partial exit. The remaining unrealised portfolio is valued at £7.3 million (July 2026). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
The chart below shows the average performance of the total subscribed into the fund in each of the last 10 full tax years (or from when the current strategy was adopted if later).
The chart is based on the latest valuations provided by the manager, expressed on a £100 invested basis. Please note, individual investor portfolios’ performance will deviate from the average.
Performance of Parkwalk EIS funds per £100 invested in each fund
Source: Parkwalk, as at July 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The chart shows realised returns (where share proceeds have been returned to investors as cash) and unrealised returns (where cash has not yet been returned and the value of the investments is based on the manager’s own valuation methodology). There is no ready market for unlisted shares. The figures shown are net of all fees and do not include any income tax relief or loss relief.
Risks – important
This, like all investments available through Wealth Club, is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice.
EIS investments are high-risk and should only form part of a balanced portfolio. As must be expected with early-stage investments, some or even all of the companies in the portfolio could fail: the fewer the companies included in the portfolio, the higher the risk of loss if things don’t go to plan. You should not invest money you cannot afford to lose.
There is no ready market for unlisted EIS shares: they are illiquid and hard to sell and value. There will need to be an exit for you to receive a realised return on your investment. Exits are likely to take considerably longer than the three-year minimum EIS holding period; equally, an exit within three years could impact tax relief.
To claim tax relief, you will need EIS3 certificates, normally issued once shares have been allotted. This can take several months: please check the deployment timescales carefully. Tax reliefs depend on the portfolio companies maintaining their EIS-qualifying status. Remember, tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
Before you invest, please carefully read the Risks and Commitments and the offer documents to ensure you fully understand the risks.
The manager believes that if a company fails, the intellectual property it owns could still have some resale value, but there are no guarantees.
Charges
A summary of the main charges and savings is shown below. Some of these will be payable by the investor, whilst others by the investee companies. The investment may have additional charges and expenses: please see the provider documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
| Investor charges | |
|---|---|
| Initial charge | 5% |
| Annual management charge | 1.5% |
| Administration charge | 0.25% |
| Dealing charge | 0.20% |
| Performance fee | 20% |
| Investee company charges | |
| Initial charge | — |
| Annual charges | — |
The fees and charges above are stated exclusive of VAT, which applies in some cases, as determined by the manager. Please check the VAT position carefully in the provider documents. Any fees and charges payable by the investee companies or the underlying businesses do not directly come out of your investment. However, they will effectively reduce the returns generated by investee companies and therefore impact your investment.
More detail on the charges
When you invest through us, Wealth Club will receive initial commission (2.5%) and trail commission (0%) paid by the provider – there is no additional cost to you.
Investor charges may be deducted from the subscription. This will reduce the amount invested and on which tax relief can be claimed.
Any investee company charges are levied on the underlying companies. They will not affect the amount of tax relief available but can still impact investor returns.
The performance fee applies on returns in excess of £1.00 per £1 invested. Whilst not uncommon among EIS funds, this is a low hurdle. Performance fees are calculated on a portfolio basis.
Other charges apply. Please see the provider’s documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
Our view
The longstanding collaboration between Parkwalk and the University of Oxford may allow the fund access to opportunities other EIS managers would be hard-pressed to replicate. Previous funds have invested in some of the university’s most promising spinouts and earlier investors have had some notable successes in this high-risk area of the market (see Refeyn above). Please note, past performance is not a guide to the future.
In our view, this is a high-quality EIS fund within an exciting and hard to reach sector. However, many of the investments are very early-stage, making it a higher-risk option and investors should expect to hold investments for longer than the minimum three years required to qualify for EIS relief.
The prospect of investing in unique deal flow from the University of Oxford might appeal to investors looking to complement a wider investment portfolio, where gaining exposure to university spinouts can be challenging.
This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 25 September 2026
Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.