Funding and Investment

Ant Workshop

Scottish games studio Ant Workshop has secured funding to enable the development of new titles, including one it hopes to bring to market next year.

Chroma Ventures, the investment arm of Dundee-based 4J Studios, invested a seven-figure sum in the games firm, allowing it to “devote more time and resource” to developing Dungeon Golf, a concept the team recently created.

The studio also plans to employ two full-time staff members, as well as additional freelance talent to supplement an existing team of eight developers.

The investment also will see its principals, 4J Studios founders Paddy Burns and Chris van der Kuyl, join Ant Workshop’s board as directors.

Edinburgh-based Ant Workshop was founded in 2015 by Tony Gowland, who has extensive experience in the gaming industry. The vision for the studio, he said, was to focus on developing original intellectual property with a “quirky sense of humour”.

Commenting on the news, Gowland said: “I’m incredibly excited for the future and what Ant Workshop will be able to achieve with Chroma Ventures’ investment.

“It not only allows our team to focus exclusively on making our new IP and games the very best they can be but enables us to tap into the vast experience Chris and Paddy bring, both in terms of developing games and businesses.”

Find out more in our full story.

IBioIC

Scottish biotech companies will be able to access specialist facilities, equipment and resources thanks to the launch of a new funding scheme.

Led by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), the Facilities Access Fund will allow biotech firms to apply for grants of up to £10,000 to support critical research and development projects.

The scheme has been specifically designed to ease and encourage access to Scottish university-based facilities that are critical to the development of new bio-based processes and materials.

Liz Fletcher, director of business engagement at IBioIC, believes the fund will be crucial in supporting Scottish biotech companies and the broader sector.

She said: “By enabling companies to access the unique and world class facilities, equipment and expertise across Scotland’s universities that are critical to research and development, we can help to expand Scotland’s bioeconomy as we head towards 2045 net-zero targets.”

Our full story has more.

Epipole

Fife-based Scottish healthtech company Epipole has received fresh investment of £1.3 million to help it expand into the US market.

Epipole will use the latest investment to hire people to help launch the company’s products and undertake early commercialisation, targeting primary care optometry and general ophthalmology practices.

The funding was led by Greenwood Way Capital, and also participation from Scottish Enterprise.

The company develops retinal imagining solutions to help combat blindness. It offers handheld devices that can take video scans of patients’ retinas. The images can then be used for assessment and diagnosis.

Incoming Epipole CEO Conal Harte said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join the Epipole team at such an exciting time. Our unique approach to retinal imaging will help our clinician customers deliver an outstanding level of eye care to their patients through a market-leading technology that delivers exceptional imaging in a powerful, portable, and low-cost device. This latest investment round will kickstart our US growth ambitions.”

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DirectID

DirectID has completed a $3 million bridge funding round led by Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, QBN Capital.

The investment boost follows an exciting period for the Edinburgh-based fintech, which has doubled headcount and revenue over the last year.

According to DirectID, the funding boost will enable the firm to expand internationally and pursue ambitious growth plans.

Through its credit & risk platform, DirectID offers lenders and financial institutions a more comprehensive view of applicants and customers finances across the credit lifecycle, providing a more precise view of credit risk and to make faster, more accurate and personalised decisions.

Commenting on the investment, DirectID founder and CEO, James Varga, said: “We are very excited to have QBN being our lead investor. This funding step will help us grow into more markets and sectors as open banking adoption grows across the world.

“We are addressing a global pain with our product, redefining credit risk for consumers and businesses alike.”

Read our full story for more.

IFB and Brightsolid

IFB’s expansion plans have been accelerated with a £500,000 investment that includes a new partnership with hybrid cloud managed service provider, Brightsolid.

The long-term agreement provides IFB with access to new and considerable data centre hosting capacity, and with the addition of core network upgrades, will also support the Aberdeen-headquartered firm’s business customers with 10-times the UK average internet speeds, increased cybersecurity and additional support for office and home working.

The firm has experienced substantial interest in its business-critical services since the coronavirus pandemic ushered in a new era of remote working and companies became more data driven to continue operating productively.

Organisations scaling up or using technologies which require more and better access to data and cloud-based software and IT infrastructure, have also necessitated an increased demand across IFB’s service range.

“In the last couple of years, businesses have evolved and working practices have changed,” says IFB CEO Graeme Gordon. He adds: “This has resulted in a rapid upsurge in the need for essential and secure data management with dependable network connectivity so people can remain productive, conduct meetings and collaborate virtually, email securely, and protect and store confidential company documents with confidence.

“We are 100% committed to maximising our customers’ uptime and productivity and have always prided ourselves in meeting their needs. Through this £500,000 long-term investment and the partnership with Brightsolid, we have bolstered existing services delivering a substantial increase in data centre hosting capacity.”

Learn more in our full story.

Quorum Cyber

Edinburgh cybersecurity firm Quorum Cyber has secured an investment package from London-based private equity business, Livingbridge.

The deal includes growth capital to enable Quorum Cyber to accelerate expansion, increase investment in solutions development and enhance the company’s sales and marketing functions.

Livingbridge described Quorum Cyber as a “unique business with a proven track record that is well-positioned to benefit from the momentum for quality security solutions”.

Commenting on the investment, Matthew Jacobs at Livingbridge, said: “Quorum Cyber has a very strong reputation offering best-in-class solutions to its clients.

“Federico Charosky is an inspirational leader with deep industry expertise, and we look forward to working closely with him and the management team to fulfil the company’s potential. With the pandemic further highlighting the need for cybersecurity solutions, there is a tremendous opportunity for the company to accelerate its growth trajectory.”

Our full story has more.

Par Equity

Par Equity more than doubled its annual investment into innovative technology businesses, from £12 million in 2020 to £25m last year.

This was in addition to a landmark $400m exit on the sale of portfolio company Current Health in October, which continued Par Equity’s track record of successful exits, returning cash to investors every year since 2013.

Edinburgh-based Par Equity backs emerging technology stars across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

Andrew Noble, Partner at Par Equity, said: “Over the last three years, we’ve built strong foundations for growth. We invested heavily in our team and operations, increasing our transaction and portfolio management capabilities. With an excellent track record, we can raise even more capital and continue to deploy it in high quality, scale-up opportunities.”

Scottish Government

A two-year equality fund has been launched to make Scottish workplaces more inclusive and diverse.

The Scottish Government-funded initiative, with £800,000 available in its first year, aims to address longstanding barriers in the labour market so that everyone – irrespective of gender, age, race, or disability – can fulfil their potential and improve Scotland’s economic performance as a result.

Applications for the 2022-2024 Workplace Equality Fund are now open, and for the first time will be administered by Advice Direct Scotland, the country’s national advice service. Applications are open until April 11, 2022.

Charities, third sector organisations, public sector organisations and private sector businesses can apply for up to £75,000 in each year of the fund to carry out activities that will help to improve diversity in the workplace.

Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work Richard Lochhead MSP said: “Employment rates, pay gaps, occupational segregation, workplace discrimination and progression opportunities within the labour market vary significantly across Scotland.

“The Scottish Government is committed to inclusive economic growth and helping employers develop their workplace practices to address inequality is key to the Workplace Equality Fund.

“Promoting growth in employment opportunities and tackling inequality within the labour market is essential to the sustained, long-term prosperity of the Scottish economy.”

Deals and Acquisitions

Exizent

Lawtech firm Exizent has signed up two new accountancy clients to its online bereavement administration platform.

The news follows the announcement of a new probate authorisation framework for accountants which sees regulation move from the ACCA to CILEx regulation, and could enable eligible accountants to offer a wider range of probate services.

McCabe Ford Williams and Anavrin Ltd are the latest accountancy firms to have signed up to the Exizent platform, which enables users to capture all of the estate information around a deceased person, upload and securely store documents, personal details, assets and liabilities, generate and populate forms and run data searches to quickly fill missing information.

Managing Director at Anavrin Rob Griffiths said: “We found that even the most ‘straightforward’ cases can take months, even years to complete. This is due to the numerous parties involved in the process, and the time it takes to manually gather all the relevant information which can be very emotional and stressful for those involved.

“Going forward, we were determined to leverage any data and technology available to make the process as easy as possible for our staff and our clients. This is why we are hugely excited to incorporate Exizent’s platform into our daily work; the innovative tech, which brings together the data, the different people and the services involved, will prove to be transformative for those working in estate administration. Plus, we’re delighted to have no more spreadsheets!”

AutoRek

AutoRek, a leading software provider to global financial services firms, has welcomed Flock on board as a new client.

Flock was founded on the conviction that traditional insurance business models are no longer fit for purpose in our fast-moving, hyper-connected world. They set out to change this by building a global, fully digital insurance company for connected commercial vehicles. An insurance company that proactively mitigates risk, rather than just paying claims.

AutoRek’s solution was chosen by Flock due its flexibility. As the company continues to grow at pace, it was crucial that it found a tech partner that could support its ambitious growth.

Gordon McHarg, CEO at AutoRek, said: “It is excellent to have Flock come on board as a new client. We are delighted to be seen as a flexible and adaptable tool to help fast-growing companies like Flock scale their business. We look forward to continuing this partnership over the coming years.”