Major DNA news breathes life into Woodford and Walker Crips stars

Invesco Perpetual star Neil Woodford (pictured) and Walker Crips Citywire Selection duo Stephen Bailey and Jan Luthman are among those to benefit from major developments in the world of genetic engineering.

IP Group, which develops intellectual property businesses, has seen its shares shoot up by 18.3% to 119.6p today after one of the companies in its portfolio, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, said at a San Francisco conference on Friday night that it intends to market DNA strand-sequencing products directly to customers.

The UK-based firm accompanied the news by unveiling the world’s first miniature DNA sequencer which fits into the palm of the hand. The company claims its technology reads the four biochemical letters of DNA in a much quicker and less expensive fashion than its bigger competitors, which include US firms Illumunia and Life Technologies.

Alan Aubrey, chief executive officer of IP Group said: ‘This is a pivotal moment for both Oxford Nanopore and IP Group. The significance of this technology introduction is, in computing terms, analogous to moving from the mainframe to the laptop. Oxford Nanopore's technology platform is truly disruptive and game-changing and is poised to deliver new applications and general benefits to science and medicine.’

Invesco Perpetual will be particularly excited by the news. The asset manager is the biggest shareholder in the firm, owning 19% of its stock according to a shareholder register dated 8 February seen by Wealth Manager.

Woodford owns the bulk of this stake with his Invesco Perpetual Income fund owning 8.8% of its stock and his Edinburgh Investment Trust owning a further 1%.

Woodford told the Financial Times on Friday night: ‘We have come in as patient, long-term investors. We are prepared to see Oxford Nanopore grow into a large independent company. On so many occasions the great technology being developed in our universities has not got funding. Then the technology – and its financial upside – has leaked abroad.’

Meanwhile Bailey and Luthman control around 1.5% of IP Group through their Walker Crips Growth, Walker Crips UK Analyst and Walker Crips UK Equity Income funds. They initially bought into the firm six months ago when shares were trading at 50p and have been gradually building their stake since. ‘We are delighted at this development and this was one of the major reasons for buying into the company,’ Bailey said. ‘We will continue to be patient long-term investors.'

Other big shareholders in IP Group include Lansdowne Partners and Baillie Gifford, which own 16% and 11% respectively.