Archangels, the Edinburgh-based business angel investment syndicate, has celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2017 by leading a record level of investment in Scottish early stage businesses.

Investments managed by Archangels in 2017 totalled £17.3 million, with Archangels members investing £11.2 million of their own cash while co-investors, including Scottish Investment Bank, provided £6.1 million of funding.

The largest single investment in 2017 was £3.6 million in ZoneFox, the Scottish cyber security firm.

The smallest seed funding led by Archangels in 2017 was £750,000 in the joint and muscle pain online triage platform PhysioWizard – illustrating Archangels’ appetite for both large and small early stage investments in young Scottish tech and life science companies and start-ups with defensible intellectual property.

Total cash returned to investors during the year was £4.2 million through dividends and an escrow release of funds from a previous sale.

There were no exits from Archangels portfolio companies during 2017.

The year also saw the publication of the book “The Archangels’ Share” which chronicled the history of the group since its inception in 1992 with an investment in Dunfermline-based Optos, which floated in 2006 before being acquired by Nikon in 2015 for £259 million.

David Ovens, Archangels’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “It’s particularly pleasing that, after quarter of a century, our record level of investments in 2017 demonstrates that Archangels is more active than it has ever been.

“The entrepreneurs and companies in whom we invest get more than just cash from Archangels.

“It’s the networks, connections and expertise that we plug them into, alongside our financial resources, that make for strong, successful relationships.

“That’s why, over the last 25 years, Archangels has been behind the creation of more than 3,500 jobs and contributing turnover totalling £1.5 billion to the Scottish economy.”