A SCOTTISH investment firm has declared its portfolio has topped a total valuation of £121 million, and completed two exit events last year.
St Andrews-based Eos Advisory reached the valuation based on latest investment rounds and alos said it has recorded its first two exit events in 2021, including one where Genus Plc acquired a large stake in aquaculture specialist Xelect.
The firm, which was founded in 2014, was active throughout the year and in January 2021 announced that it had led a £1.24m investment into RAB-Microfluidics, an Aberdeen-headquartered R&D company developing cutting-edge microfluidic technology to diagnose engine and turbine wear in real time. Founded by chief executive Rotimi Alabi, RAB-Microfluidics has since grown the team and gained significant sales.
Within weeks Eos had secured its first strategic investment partnership with US-based Kineticos Life Sciences, to co-invest in early stage Scottish companies in a venture partnership which aims to invest over £10m over the next five years in oncology-focused life sciences ventures.
In June, sustainable food protein scale-up Enough, which was previously called 3F BIO, a University of Strathclyde spin-out, secured a $43m Series B round, in what was described as one of the largest investment rounds into a Scottish technology company to date.
Also during the summer, Wobble Genomics, a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and founded by chief executive Richard Kuo, secured a £2.15m round led by Eos. Wobble has developed a range of hardware and software tools.
The company has also focused on building its team including the appointment of Chris Brinsmead, a former senior AstraZeneca executive and former adviser to the UK Government on life sciences, to the firm’s board and Callum Keddie, who previously led a London-based venture capital impact fund, joining Eos as an investment executive.
The firm now has the Eos Syndicate, Eos Innovation Fund, and Eos Venture Partnerships, in place, which it said is part of a wider strategy to support the funding of Scottish innovation beyond seed stage.
Andrew McNeill, managing partner at Eos Advisory, hailed the “significant growth” in its portfolio and core business. “Our modus operandi is to continue supporting our companies post-investment, and helping them to grow," he said.
Mark Beaumont, Eos partner and record-breaking cyclist, said that the Eos Syndicate "continues to be a collective of very active investors in innovation that has a positive impact in the world, emanating mainly from Scottish universities".
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