The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Milestone moment for angel investor group
Finance: £100m investment barrier breached as syndicate marks silver anniversary
A business angel syndicate founded in Scotland 25 years ago has broken through the £100 million investment barrier.
Founded by Mike Rutterford and Barry Sealey in 1992, Archangels will tonight hold its ‘Chorus’ reception in Edinburgh to mark its 25th anniversary.
Attendees at the annual event will be told that direct investment by members of the group topped £100m last year.
Along with partners, Archangels has leveraged a total of £222m of investment in 82 Scottish companies since its inception, supporting 3,500 high-value jobs in the process.
One of the group’s earliest investments was in Fife-based medical retinal imaging company Optos.
The Dunfermline-based firm later went on to float on the London Stock exchange and was acquired in 2015 by Japanese giant Nikon in a £260m deal.
Archangels, which has generated £989m of gross value added to the Scottish economy in its time in operation, has a portfolio of 22 investee companies employing more than 660 people in Scotland.
Last year Archangels returned £31.5m to investors, principally through the sale of Touch Bionics in Livingston but also due to a deferred consideration relating to the sale of Dundee-based CXR Biosciences the previous year.
Archangels chairman Eric Young said: “The four pillars on which Archangels was founded – to put something back, support young Scottish companies, make an investment return, and have fun – have stood the test of time well.”
Sir Brian Souter, the Perth-based Stagecoach founder and long-time Archangels investor, will deliver the keynote speech at the group’s event tonight.