Northern Gritstone, the investor backed by the universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield, has promoted Simon Braham to chief investment officer, succeeding Marion Bernard.
Bernard has left the firm after four and a half years, having been Northern Gritstone’s founding CIO. Bernard says she plans to take on her next challenge after the summer, but has not revealed further details.
Braham joined Northern Gritstone as head of portfolio, a newly created role at the time, in September 2025. He was previously a partner at Bridges Fund Management’s Sustainable Growth Funds for five years.
Northern Gritstone was launched in 2021 by the universities of Sheffield, Leeds, and Manchester, and raised £312 million by October 2023. Liverpool joined the fold in May 2025.
In June 2025, Northern Gritstone partnered with Parkwalk Advisors to establish the Northern Universities Venture Fund, which uses the Enterprise Investment Scheme, a UK tax-relief programme for individual investors.
In April this year, the investment firm raised a further £20 million as part of a rolling close.
