Edinburgh-based Archangels, a business angel syndicate that invests and mentors startups and early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies, announced on Monday, July 31, that it has secured £12M (approximately €14M) through a co-investment agreement with British Business Investments via its Regional Angels Programme.
Archangels says it will combine capital from British Business Investments with syndicate funding for its investment activity.
Investor supporting Archangels
British Business Investments Limited is a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the UK government’s economic development bank, British Business Bank plc.
It invests in smaller businesses and small mid-caps through finance providers to earn a commercial return without receiving any economic advantage from the government.
British Business Investments Limited and British Business Bank plc are not banking institutions, are not regulated by Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and have their legal structure chart on the British Business Bank plc website.
Judith Hartley, CEO at British Business Investments, says, “The Regional Angels Programme plays a vital role in developing the early-stage funding ecosystem across the UK Nations and Regions, bringing together finance, business experience and skills to support the development of high-growth smaller businesses.”
“By investing alongside Archangels’ syndicate, this £12M co-investment agreement from British Business Investments will support early-stage life sciences and technology companies across Scotland,” adds Hartley.
“Investing in Innovation”
Founded in 1992, Archangels is a business angel syndicate that focuses on early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies. With around 130 members, an 11-strong board, and an executive team, they currently have 19 companies in their portfolio.
Archangels operates with a focus on maximising investor returns and nurturing successful businesses to help Scotland prosper.
They have invested over £160M in “innovative” early-stage companies with the potential for global scaling. Notably, they achieved significant exits, such as selling Blackford Analysis to Bayer Pharma and Optoscribe to Intel Corporation in 2022.
Archangels acts as the lead investor and partners with various co-investors, including Scottish Enterprise, angel syndicates, and VCs. They recently participated in a £2.2M funding round to support Edinburgh-based Bioliberty.
Capital utilisation
Archangels says the deal will offer extra capital to the Edinburgh-based syndicate, helping to support Scotland’s aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators.
David Ovens, Joint MD at Archangels, says, “The co-investment agreement from British Business Investments means that, in a challenging global market, Archangels will have access to significant levels of aligned co-investment capital.”
“This additional funding will allow us to support current and future portfolio companies to grow their businesses and provide returns for both our investors and the broader Scottish economy.”
“We are in advanced discussions with a number of exciting new companies, and we anticipate seeing these deals coming to fruition over the coming months,” adds Ovens.