The investment activity of the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) generated a record income of £35.7 million during 2015-16 following 12 successful exits.
“This is a positive signal of the health of the Scottish early stage risk capital market and these exits will facilitate further investment into a new cohort of ambitious Scottish companies,” said the SIB.
Scottish Enterprise said the SIB, its investment arm, invested a total of £52.4 million into 133 Scottish companies during 2015-16, supporting growth companies at various stages of development.
The £52.4 million included the investment of more than £12 million into 13 established SMEs through the Scottish Loan Fund, which is managed by Maven Capital Partners.
The SIB said its investee companies supported over 3,700 full time jobs in Scotland during the year, and, working alongside private sector partners, SIB helped these investee companies achieve a combined annual turnover exceeding £550 million.
SIB’s aim to support companies with international ambition also paid off during 2015-16, as international sales by SIB investee companies continued to grow to over £220 million.
During 2015-16, SIB said it supported Scotland’s strong focus on renewable energy through £9.85 million of investment into 10 marine and community renewable energy, through the Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government.
“The results illustrate the impact that our activity is having on the Scottish economy, both in terms of actual investments made and the support we’re providing to companies in helping to prepare them for investment,” said Kerry Sharp, head of the Scottish Investment Bank.
“In line with the Scottish Government’s ambition to support more companies to access growth finance, we’re aiming to work with more companies at different stages of development, to help them identify and access appropriate finance from both existing and new sources.
“As such, we’re working hard to improve access to capital for Scottish companies.
“Under our expanding remit we’re focusing on improving the diversity of funding available for companies in Scotland and we continue to seek out the best ways to address emerging market gaps and identify additional sources of capital for investment into Scottish companies.”