A Sydney firm will set up in Adelaide after being selected to run the SA Venture Capital Fund

After months of uncertainty, a new manager has been announced for the SA Venture Capital Fund.

Former Blue Sky director Elaine Stead.

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Sydney firm Artesian Venture Partners will set up at startup incubator Lot Fourteen after being selected as the new manager of the SA Venture Capital Fund.

The management of the $50 million fund, which has made only three investments in its two and a half year life, was thrown into doubt last year when former ASX-listed manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments failed.

Former Blue Sky director Elaine Stead and her team stayed on while the government decided how to progress, eventually deciding to run an expression of interest process to select a new manager.

While this process demanded the ongoing employment of Ms Stead and her team, Ms Stead quit last month. She refused to comment to The Advertiser as to why.

She said on Twitter recently that more than 400 opportunities had been evaluated and three investments made and also followed on.

“That investment rate for a Series A+ fund that is geographically captured is what we expect,’’ she said.

“And while we may only be able to measure the economic impact on a limited number of metrics today, I’m confident the retrospective analysis in 10 and 20 years will be phenomenal.’’

A contract leaked to The Advertiser showed Blue Sky was being paid management fees ranging from $915,751 per year to $1,045,568 per year, over an anticipated 15 year contract.

Artesian will be paid on the same terms as Blue Sky.

Treasurer Rob Lucas said in a statement the appointment of Artesian Venture Partners was recommended by the independent SAVCF Management Committee, chaired by Raymond Spencer.

“The independent SAVCF management committee has advised the government that Artesian

Venture Partners is well-placed to manage the SAVCF based on their scale, experience and proven track record of successfully managing venture capital portfolios that deliver co-investment funds to government, industry, institutional and corporate partners,” he said.

“We look forward to them playing a key role in identifying strategic investment opportunities in South Australian start-ups and scale-ups across a range of industries, including defence, cybersecurity, space, clean energy, health and agtech amongst others, that will support our commitment to grow the economy and create jobs.

“Artesian, currently headquartered in Sydney, will establish a small dedicated office within the Start-up Hub at Lot Fourteen, initially appointing three full-time experienced staff.”

In the past two and a half years, the SAVCF has invested $6.2 million into three companies (Myriota Pty Ltd, Kid Sense Child Development Inc and Fivecast Pty Ltd) leveraging a further $18.9 million in private sector capital,’’ the government said.