Angel syndicate reveals jump in investment and flags appetite

BUSINESS angel syndicate Archangels has declared that 2014 was one of its most active years for investment in Scottish technology and life sciences companies as it reported a 20 per cent jump in total funding arranged.

Archangels chief executive John Waddell, addressing about 160 entrepreneurs and angel investors from across Scotland last night, said that the syndicate of private investors had in total arranged funding of £12.2 million for 14 companies during 2014.

This, he noted, had comprised £7.5m of investment from Archangels’ member investors, £3.5m of co-investment from taxpayer-funded Scottish Enterprise and £1.2m from other partners.

In 2013, Archangels arranged funding of £10.2m for 13 companies, with £5.2m of this coming from its own members.

Mr Waddell declared that Archangels’ traditional investment model was going from “strength to strength” at a time when crowdfunders and other early-stage investors were entering the funding market place.

The biggest single funding deal in 2014 for the Archangels syndicate was a £2.5m investment last May in Scottish prosthetic upper limb developer Touch Bionics.

The angel syndicate last year also put £100,000 of funding into Cytomos. Edinburgh-based Cytomos has technology which uses electronics to analyse cells.

Archangels said Cytomos was at a very early stage and its member investors had agreed to support the company because of its strong prospects.

Mr Waddell, emphasising Archangels’ willingness to invest in early-stage companies, drew parallels with this funding deal and the syndicate’s previous investment in Scottish retinal imaging company Optos, which went on to join the stock market.

The angel syndicate said that investors in its portfolio had been provided with returns from disposals and dividends of £17.3m in 2014, with £11.2m going to Archangels’ members.

It noted these figures included returns from the successful sale of electricity supply business Flexitricity to Swiss energy company Alpiq.

Mr Waddell said: “There is a misconception that Archangels only invests in relatively developed companies and this isn’t true. Our investment of £100,000 in Cytomos reminds me of Archangels’ initial investment of £25,000 in Optos all those years ago to fund proof of concept.”