Northern Ireland peacemaker George Mitchell is joining Axiomlab, the latest 'internet incubator' to come to the market.

The former Democratic senator heads Axiomlab's board, which includes top UK executives from Microsoft and Cisco Systems.

The venture is raising £5 million at 5p per share, valuing the company at £13m on the Alternative Investment Market this week. Unusually, the firm will restrict its investments initially to start-ups in Scotland and the North of England.

'We see a gap in the market in areas that badly need such investment,' said founding director Fred Mendelson. 'Each region will also have its own heavyweight investment panel, and we already have backers such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Mutual and Apax.'

Axiomlab is the brainchild of Mendelson - a 37-year-old Oxford graduate, Harvard MBA and former McKinsey management consultant - and Ray Ingleby, a self-made multi-millionaire.

The flotation bucks the trend of growing disappointment with certain so-called 'incubators'.