About Us
ORA was established in November 2005 and raised £31.8m from investors between inception and May 2006. ORA raised further net proceeds of £34.7m on a placing and admission to AIM in May 2007. In March 2009, ORA was re-registered in Guernsey pursuant to a scheme of arrangement and the new holding company was admitted to AIM on 16 March 2009. On the 13th March 2009 Ora changed its corporate structure by putting in place the new Guernsey incorporated holding company, Ora Capital Partners Limited, which was implemented via a scheme of arrangement under sections 895 to 899 of the Companies Act 2006.
The principal activity of ORA is the growth and development of businesses in which ORA has or acquires either a significant minority or a majority shareholding
ORA leverages the experience and relationships of its Directors and senior management to grow and develop its related businesses. The Directors, biographical details for whom are given in the Board section on the Investor Relations page, comprise Richard Griffiths, Michael Bretherton, Beatrice Hollond and James Ede-Golightly. The team has significant experience in the creation, growth and management of businesses across the areas in which ORA operates, as well as a range of disciplines within capital markets.
ORA has to date engaged in the development of six principal businesses which comprise:
Nanoco Group Plc, a nanotechnology business involved in the development and manufacture of fluorescent semi-conducting materials called quantum dots with the ability to emit intense light of a specific colour dependent on dot size.
Oxford Advanced Surfaces Group Plc, a company that develops and commercialises advanced materials and technology solutions using its patented surface modification technology.
Tissue Regenix Group Plc, a biotechnology business involved in the development of biological scaffolds which when implanted into the body, are regenerated by the patient's own cells.
Oxford Nutrascience Group Plc, a company that develops and commercialises novel delivery systems for functional supplement ingredients and medicines using advanced neutraceutical technology.
Obtala Resources Plc , a holding company of a mining and exploration and development group with a primary focus on diamond mining operations in Sierra Leone as well as gold, nickel and agricultural land focused opportunities in Tanzania.
Novum Securities Limited, an agency broking business which also acts as market maker in UK domestic securities.
All of the above businesses are now AIM listed with the exception of Novum Securities Limited which remains a private company. In each case ORA has significant experience in the relevant sector and in the case of the AIM listed businesses, ORA also has board representation.
In addition, ORA also engages in trading financial instruments and has smaller interests in a number of other companies which it considers to be of interest for the future but to which it does not currently ascribe significant value.