EDINBURGH-based Nandi Proteins has secured £360,000 UK Government funding under a scheme designed to support early stage high-growth businesses amid the Covid 19 coronavirus crisis.

The finance is being provided under the coronavirus Future Fund, which was launched in April by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April.

READ MORE: Government debt hits record £2 trillion amid Covid 19 relief effort

The loan from the Government forms part of a total £720,000 fund-raising that Nandi has completed to support continued work with industry partners on technologies it thinks could help address heath issues such as obesity.

On its website Nandi says its technology is able to create new protein-based ingredients to replace chemical additives and fats in processed foods, such as meats, cakes and a host of other products.

The company is leading a consortium that is developing gluten replacements for use in bread. Other members include a division of the giant AB Foods business.

Nandi has also won a further £320,000 backing from the Frontier IP technology commercialisation business. It has secured £40,000 from the Shackleton Finance venture capital firm.

READ MORE: Edinburgh institute in focus as London financiers hunt for potential biotechnology 'unicorns'

Acting chief executive Matthew White said: “Nandi Proteins is addressing many of the food industry’s major concerns including the dangers of obesity, a problem thrown into greater focus by the impact of Covid 19. We are very much looking forward to continuing our work with both existing and new industry partners.”

Mr White is also chief commercialisation officer at Frontier IP.

The chief executive of Frontier IP Neil Crabb said Nandi was well-placed to benefit from strong interest across the food industry in reducing the levels of additives, fats and meat on both health and environmental grounds.

Nandi was spun out of Heriot Watt University by its founder Lydia Campbell, who became a food science lecturer after working for Nestle. Its technology has been developed from the recognition that the functional properties of proteins are denatured when they are heated.