Scottish Investment Bank programme facilitates £16.26m funding boost for first cohort of companies

Kerry Sharp

The Programme is delivered by the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise – in partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF) and is backed by the Scottish Government through the Scottish Growth Scheme. It aims to increase available equity funding options for companies who are at the next stage in their growth journey.

Within this first cohort, companies that have benefited from investment to accelerate their growth ambitions and create new jobs include chemistry technology firm DeepMatter and data analytics company ONZO.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, Derek Mackay MSP, said: “This programme, the first under the Scottish Growth Scheme, was designed specifically for companies seeking large equity investment to support their growth plans. Both ONZO and DeepMatter have been able to expand and create job opportunities whilst attracting additional new investment through the programme. SEGCP, through the Scottish Investment Bank, will continue to support businesses with a wider range of growth plans and aspirations.”

Kerry Sharp, director of the SIB, said: “ONZO and DeepMatter are exactly the type of ambitious companies our innovative programme is designed to support. By understanding the financing needs of our businesses, introducing new investors to the Scottish market, and actively filling the gap in funding availability, SEGCP has enabled the companies to deliver their growth ambitions.

“The programme is only one of the available financing support mechanisms we have at SIB. We are here to invest in growth and I encourage companies looking to raise additional funds – and investors interested in considering fantastic investment opportunities in Scotland – to get in touch with us.”

EIF chief executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert said: “We are pleased that these two companies are benefitting from one of the first financing programmes launched by EIF under the EIF-NPI Equity Platform; an initiative to engage more closely with development organisations, such as Scottish Enterprise, from across Europe. These two businesses provide clear examples of how the Scottish-European Growth Co-Investment Programme can help us tackle the ‘second equity gap’ that companies face when they develop from start-ups to growth companies.”

DeepMatter Group, an innovative technology company based in Glasgow, has built a platform focused on digitising chemistry to make it recordable, reproducible and shareable. SEGCP support has enabled DeepMatter, an AIM listed group, to access additional institutional and private investment. It currently has 15 employees, growing shortly to 20, and exports globally.

DeepMatter CEO Mark Warne said: “The investment allowed us to cement DeepMatter’s long-term development strategy, providing funding that ensures we remain at the forefront of the digitisation of chemistry, whilst also helping the company to secure additional institutional investment. We remain committed to building a sustainable business in Scotland and this year plan to expand our workforce, adding further software developers and data scientists to our team of visionary experts.”

ONZO Ltd, a data analytics company working predominantly in the energy industry, raised investment to expand its operations and open a Scottish office. Investment from SEGCP, coupled with funding from existing investor West Coast Capital, a Scottish private investment business, Cipio partners, a German Private Equity Fund and Eneco, a Dutch Energy Company, has enabled the company to accelerate its plans. The company has worked closely with Scottish Development International (SDI) planning its Scottish operations.

ONZO CEO Steve Daniels said: “The new investment and our existing shareholders’ support has enabled us to take a significant step forward in accelerating the development of our business. We have already set up an office in Edinburgh, concentrated on speeding-up the delivery of our product road map, in terms of existing requirements. Importantly, the calibre of the team we have begun to recruit will also enable us to develop product and service features for the future requirements of the Energy Sector.”