BT's incubator running out of oxygen

BT's corporate incubator is suffering at the hands of fickle venture capitalists, whose current reluctance to invest in any new companies has forced it into a restructure.

BT Brightstar was launched in early 2000 with the aim of nurturing around 10 companies a year. But since April 2001 it has failed to create a single start-up because of the lack of VC funding.

Harry Berry, the creative director of Brightstar, has slammed the money men, claiming that they have gone from "investing in anything that moved" to a virtual withdrawal.

He told the FT: "Most of them [the VCs] have got a headache with their portfolios and are just regrouping."

Brightstar now plans to work on building a customer base for its businesses within BT until venture capital becomes available once again.