Scottish Enterprise is to streamline three of its five Scottish Investment Bank branded funds into two from the beginning of next month in a move that it says will simplify the system for applicants, increase flexibility and reduce barriers to investment.

The Scottish Seed Fund - which was aimed at recent start-ups - will be amalgamated with the Scottish Venture Fund (SVF) and the Scottish Co-Investment Fund (SCF) from the beginning of next month, when both the SVF and the SCF will be relaunched.

The Scottish Loan Fund and Scottish Renewable Energy Investment Fund will be unaffected by the changes with the Scottish Investment Bank continuing to deliver the renewable energy fund and continuing as the main investor in the privately-managed loan fund.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise said that the end of the current European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming period had given the enterprise agency the opportunity to review the operation of all its funds in the light of customer feedback.

Over the next three years, the spokeswoman said, Scottish Enterprise plans to invest up to £75 million through the relaunched SVF and SCF and that this would support between 160 and 200 high-growth potential companies throughout Scotland.

The spokeswoman added that, over the next ten years, Scottish Enterprise expects both funds to create 1,800 full-time equivalent jobs and an additional economic impact of up to £600m.

The SCF, the first of the SIB's funds, was founded in 2003 with an initial capital of £60m with the aim of providing investment for early stage companies. A further £67m, some of it from the ERDF, was injected into the fund in 2007. The other four funds were added between 2006 and 2012.

Since its launch in 2003, the SIB has invested £188m in 340 Scottish companies and this has leveraged in a further £425m of private sector investment as well as £96m of ERDF investment.

The SIB claims that as a direct result of its funds the number of angel investors active in the Scottish market have grown from two in 2003 to over 20.

The 13 priority sectors that the SIB invests in are: life sciences; energy; the creative industries; financial services; food & drink; enabling technologies; renewable energy; chemical services; tourism; construction; aerospace, defence & marine; forest & timber technologies and textiles.