Trevor Baylis, inventor of the clockwork radio, is raising £1.5 million at 22p on PLUS Markets for Trevor Baylis Brands (TBB), an ‘ideas filtration’ business he set up to spin out companies.

Since he found fame Baylis has tirelessly banged the drum for inventors, establishing Richmond-based TBB in 2003 to ‘help them get their ideas to market’. The company has already spun out three ventures from the 120 ideas it receives each month and, says commercial director Robert Fairall, ‘we now need seed capital to fund those in the pipeline and build asset value’.

Fairall says TBB can cherry pick the best ideas and form around four companies around them per year, from which, if they succeed, it will take ‘one third of the profits’.

The first of the three spin-out companies is based on an idea submitted by an 80-year old retired engineer for a ‘green’ liquid cleaner powered by ultrasonic sound that can be used on oil rigs and to treat sewage — it is working with North West Water on the latter. Another is a ‘slip-control management’ system to monitor supermarket floors, and the third company is testing its air-drying machine for the building industry.

The open offer will value TBB at £7.5 million. A tech transfer business in the mould of fully-listed IP Group and XL TechGroup (see feature), but without their university connections, it remains to be seen how commercial Baylis’ venture will be.