EDINBURGH-BASED business angel investment group Archangels led investments totalling a record £23.7 million in Scottish tech and life sciences companies during 2021.
In a packed year of activity for the syndicate, the 11 investments, totalling £23.7m, represented an increase of 44% on 2020’s figure of £16.3m.
They included a £1m-plus initial investment in BioCaptiva, which is developing BIOCAPTOR, a revolutionary medical device that will transform liquid biopsy testing and enhance cancer detection.
In total, Archangels invested £11.8m – up from £8.1m in 2020 – of members’ cash during 2021, up 46% on 2020. Co-investors during 2021 included Scottish Enterprise, Maven Capital Partners, Par Equity, Sands Capital Ventures and NVM.
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David Ovens (pictured), joint managing director at Archangels, said: “Our 2021 investment performance demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in promising Scottish businesses that are at the leading edge of innovation in their field.
“Scotland’s tech and life sciences markets are as vibrant as they have ever been and there’s no shortage of great ideas coming from Scottish inventors, change-makers and innovators.”
Highlights for 2021 for Archangels and its portfolio companies included Calcivis, the Edinburgh-based dental technology company, completing a £1.52m equity fundraise, led by Archangels and also featuring investment from Scottish Enterprise and Lynx Financial, in preparation of the US launch of the world’s first biotechnology-based dental imaging system.
Archangels co-founder Mike Rutterford received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UKBAA Angel Investment Awards, recognising his 29-year-long contribution to business angel investing in the UK, alongside that of fellow co-founder Barry Sealey.
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