A courier business operated by people with disabilities has won backing from one of the pioneers of Scotland’s business angel movement.
Barry Sealey, who co-founded the Archangels syndicate, has invested £15,000 in East Kilbride based Delivered Next Day Personally in his first move into the world of social investment.
This involves supporting firms that aim to deliver social or environmental benefits as well as a profit.
Founded by Bruce Gunn, who was housebound for three years with an illness, DNDP employs people with disabilities as couriers to make deliveries in areas close to where they live.
“I chose to invest in DNDP because as well as providing employment and a sense of purpose for disabled and disadvantaged people, it is also generating income and delivering commercial impact,” said Mr Sealey.
He added:“There is no way I would invest in a business if I didn’t have confidence in the person behind it. As an investor it is vital you believe in both the idea and the people who will deliver it.”
Mr Gunn has described how he started Delivered Next Day Personally in 2012 after feeling that he had been thrown onto the scrapheap because of the difficulties he experienced.
The former IT consultant suffered an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite on a family holiday to Spain in 2008, which led to a long-term illness.
The funding could help Mr Gunn achieve his ambition to roll out the DNDP model to other parts of Scotland.
Mr Sealey noted he was introduced to the idea of social investment by Peter Shakeshaft, who played a key role in the development of Archangels. Founded by Mr Sealey and Mike Rutterford, the syndicate has led investments totalling more than £170 million in over 80 companies and creating more than 1,000 jobs since 1992.
“The idea of applying this experience to the social world appealed to me,” said Mr Sealey.
“Applying good commercial principles to tackle important social problems is so much better than looking for charity money.”
He was encouraged to invest by the availability of a tax break that was introduced last year. The Social Investment Tax Relief scheme provides income and capital gains tax reliefs for people who back qualifying businesses.
The investment was facilitated by Firstport, which supports start-up social entrepreneurs in Scotland.
Karen McGregor, chief executive of Firstport, said she was delighted the agency had been able to help secure what she hoped was the first of many SITR deals in Scotland.
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