Par deployed 48 per cent more capital than in the previous year, which in turn raised a further £26 million from third party investors. Specialising in investing in young, high-growth businesses, Par was the “lead investor” for more than 75% of those transactions.

It has focused on technology companies across the north of the UK and currently has a portfolio of 40 companies including rising stars like Current Health (Edinburgh and Boston), Cumulus (Belfast), Nova Pangea Technologies (Middlesbrough), Integrated Graphene (Stirling) and Novosound (Glasgow).

Par successfully led eight investments in March, including a £5m Series A round into Cyan Forensics, an Edinburgh-based provider of “game changing” technology to law enforcement agencies and social media companies, which identifies and blocks harmful digital content such as child pornography and terrorism.

Three of Par’s investments in March were into Northern Irish companies, which collectively raised more than £6m of funding.

Last week, Par invested a further £3m into Current Health, as part of its £31m Series B funding. Par’s total investment in Current Health is now more than £7m across multiple investment rounds since 2016. Current Health is now one of the fastest growing companies in the UK and increased its revenue by 3,500% last year.

Paul Munn, managing partner at Par Equity, said: “We know what is needed to take a company from its infancy and turn it into a success story. Our role is enabling the ongoing provision of capital and expertise to these fast growth tech companies. In order to build global champions in the North of the UK Par will be steadfast in our support of our portfolio.”

Par has invested in 62 companies since it started in 2008. Collectively, those companies have raised £266m from investors and much of this investment has been used to build out the world class teams they need to succeed.

Andrew Noble, partner at Par Equity, added: “We recognise the challenges that the pandemic has brought to many people across the UK, so it’s especially rewarding to be creating jobs through our investment activities. Employment within our portfolio companies increased from a total of 650 people to 885 in a year.

“But we want to do more. Over the last 12 months, we’ve invested heavily in Par Equity itself, building out our infrastructure and reach to support more companies. For example, we strengthened our network of angel investors and business mentors with the appointment of Regional Chairs in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Belfast.

“They are our ‘partners on the ground’, identifying and flagging the emerging talent in their region. We’ve also established a head-hunter panel to build out a talent pipeline for our portfolio companies. We’ve seen an increasing number of attractive opportunities in the north of the UK and we’re planning for the next 12 months to be even better.”