The deal will supply Archangels — which was formed in 1992 and invests in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies — with additional funding to put towards the next generation of Scots entrepreneurs innovating within these sectors.

The capital from British Business Investments, the commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, is set to be deployed alongside syndicate funding across all of the firm’s investment activity.

British Business Investments’ Regional Angels Programme was launched in a move to help reduce regional imbalances in access to early stage equity funding for smaller businesses across the UK, and to increase the aggregate amount of early stage equity capital available.

Since its inception, the Regional Angels Programme has purportedly committed around £197m to support regional investment.

In June, DIGIT reported on the news that British Business Investments will commit up to £10 million through the Regional Angels Programme to another Scottish investment firm, Eos, which is based in St Andrews.

Both Eos and Archangels participated in the recent investment round of Edinburgh biotech startup Bioliberty, in which the firm landed £2.2m to help fund the development of its rehabilitative robotic glove. The funding round was led by Archangels.

Speaking on the £12m deal with British Business Investments, David Ovens, joint managing director at Archangels, said: “The co-investment agreement from British Business Investments means that, in a challenging global market, Archangels will have access to significant levels of aligned co-investment capital.

“This additional funding will allow us to support current and future portfolio companies to grow their businesses and provide returns for both our investors and the broader Scottish economy.

“We are in advanced discussions with a number of exciting new companies, and we anticipate seeing these deals coming to fruition over the coming months.”

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Judith Hartley, chief executive at British Business Investments, also commented: “The Regional Angels Programme plays a vital role in developing the early-stage funding ecosystem across the UK Nations and Regions, bringing together finance, business experience and skills to support the development of high-growth smaller businesses.

“By investing alongside Archangels’ syndicate, this £12m co-investment agreement from British Business Investments will support early-stage life sciences and technology companies across Scotland.”

While on the subject of regional investment, last week a new report from the Treasury Committee highlighted that the UK’s venture capital-focused tax relief schemes having a seven-to-10 year business “age limit” is disadvantageous to startups in regions outside of the “Golden Triangle.”