The Scotland and Northern Ireland team of the Business Growth Fund (BGF) has reported that it delivered five company exits and invested £33 million in the local growth economy last year.

Set up in 2011, BGF is a UK and Ireland growth capital investor, providing backing via capital and expertise as a minority partner. In 2023, and across the UK and Ireland as a whole, BGF backed 44 new businesses and invested £430 million.

The investor said that local funding activities last year have helped to support acquisitions, product development, strategies, as well as provide working capital for portfolio companies.

Scottish investments in 2023 have included: a £4.5 million investment in Stellar Omada, the Edinburgh-headquartered technology services company; a £2 million investment into STC INSISO, an Aberdeen-based software solutions company; and a £8m investment into Trojan Energy, another Aberdeen-headquartered company that’s developed and commercialised a ‘flat and flush’ EV charging system for on-street users.

Follow-on investments across its existing Scottish portfolio included a further £2 million investment in MRM Global (which rebranded to Hyble), a provider of marketing technology to the global drinks and hospitality sector.

BGF also announced five exits in Scotland and Northern Ireland during the year, at a total value of over £260 million. The exits included Kick ICT, the North Lanarkshire-based IT services provider, and STATS (UK) Ltd., the supplier of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping, and plugging services to the petrochemical, gas, and oil industries.

The investment and exits came amid Scottish businesses reporting delays to growth projects because of funding challenges, with the cost of doing business being named as a key challenge.

Patrick Graham, BGF’s head of Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “I’m very happy with the performance the team has delivered this year, particularly given the economic backdrop.

“Over the last year, we’ve backed a diverse range of brilliant businesses with both new and follow-on funding packages. At the same time, we secured strong exits from five portfolio companies, delivering us a strong rate of return. The results of our 2023 activity demonstrate not only the success of BGF’s investment model but also the quality within our portfolio.

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“In 2024, BGF will continue to help ambitious businesses realise their growth potential. We know that the general market outlook in Scotland, and indeed globally, continues to be challenging.

“However, despite the wider market picture, we are confident in our pipeline of deals because it is built on established relationships and a deep understanding of the local SME market which continues to show remarkable resilience despite what is thrown at it. The variety of success stories we have had in 2023 underlines this.”