ENTREPRENEURIAL Scotland has agreed a partnership with the Business Growth Fund which the organisations hope will help encourage the development of a more enterprising country.
The bank-supported Business Growth Fund private equity operation has become a corporate partner of Entrepreneurial Scotland, whose members include the founders of some of the country’s most successful businesses.
Sandy Kennedy, chief executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland, said linking a prominent growth finance provider with the organisation’s 1,000 plus members was an important step towards achieving its ambition of Scotland becoming the most entrepreneurial society in the world.
The organisation said it aims to accelerate the process by partnering with organisations that can offer suitable expertise, experience and resources.
The growth fund will deliver masterclasses to Entrepreneurial Scotland members, with information about how growth can be financed through equity investments by shareholders as well as traditional debt.
Patrick Graham, of the Business Growth Fund’s Scottish team, said: “Our new relationship with Entrepreneurial Scotland will allow BGF to engage directly with its membership and extensive network of entrepreneurs across Scotland.”
The partnership may help the fund to access investment opportunities and to recruit experienced entrepreneurs to join the boards of the firms it backs.
Founded in 2011, the Business Growth Fund has invested more than £100m in 16 companies in Scotland, including Arran Aromatics. It is backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered.
Entrepreneurial Scotland’s members include Sir Bill Gammell, who founded Cairn Energy and chairs the Genius gluten free bread firm, and Gareth Williams of the Skyscanner flight search business.
Corporate partners include UBS investment bank, the accountancy firms EY and Johnston Carmichael and law firms Pinsent Masons and Turcan Connell.
The organisation was formed from the merger of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and the Saltire Foundation in 2014.
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