The investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB), has announced it invested a record £63.5 million into 146 Scottish companies in the most recent financial year.

Direct investment over the 12 months to March this year increased by 21 per cent from £52.4 million last year.

SIB helped companies leverage £106m of private sector investment, with over 30 international VCs and corporate investors backing SIB investee companies, helping to secure more than £46m of investment from outside Scotland

Investment activity generated income of £22.6m – the second highest on record – which will be re-invested.

Kerry Sharp, director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “These results illustrate that Scotland continues to benefit from a strong and vibrant investment market and reflect an integrated approach across Scottish Enterprise and with private sector partners to support the growth of Scotland’s ambitious company base.

“Indeed, the record level of investment in the last year signals an increasing appetite from Scottish companies for growth capital, and we remain focused both on increasing the supply of growth capital available in Scotland and on preparing even more companies to receive investment.

“Scotland’s continued ability to attract international investment is evidence of the quality of the investment opportunities in Scotland, and through our network of innovation and investment hubs, we’ll be looking to further expand our network of international investment partners.”

Business minister Paul Wheelhouse added: “I welcome the broadening of SIB’s activities and congratulate them on this positive achievement as part of the Scottish Government’s wider response to improve access to finance. It is important that young innovative Scottish businesses can access the finance they need to grow and meet their potential ambitions – particularly companies developing new technology, and products, that will have a reach into global markets – and we are working to deliver this to ensure continued significant investment into the Scottish market.”