Highland Venture Capital

Business Angel group, Highland Venture Capital (HVC), has completed its first lead investment in partnership with Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-investment Fund.

£600,000 has been committed as investment in newly formed Advanced Microwave Technologies Ltd, a company which has invented a system for treating, at source, blood waste from abattoirs which will potentially offer huge savings in waste disposal costs to a tight margin industry.

Regulatory authorities are already excited about this new process which also answers many environmental concerns. Inventor Yuriy Zadyraka has been working on this project for a number of years and the cash funding will mean that a full production machine can now be manufactured. This unit is scheduled to be tried and tested at an abattoir in Scotland later this year, with full commercial production anticipated to start in six to nine months.

Yuriy Zadyraka of AMT comments, “We are delighted to be working with HVC and have greatly appreciated the straight forward manner in which they have approached this deal. In particular we welcome the additions to the company’s new Board. The investors have brought in HVC’s Gregor Munro and David Mason as Chairman and Director respectively with Douglas Armstrong, who has considerable knowledge about technology-based business start-ups in the agricultural and food sector as Managing Director.

Iain Scott, Chairman of HVC, says, “We have been working with Douglas and Yuriy for over six months to develop the strategy, plans and funding structures for AMT. It is very pleasing to have this deal as our first”.

Neil Ross, head of investment funds for Scottish Enterprise, comments, “As Scotland’s enterprise, innovation and investment agency supporting business growth and developing the business environment, we have a major role to play in helping to increase Scotland’s investment activity.

“Access to investment is extremely important for young, dynamic Scottish companies, like Advanced Microwave Technologies Ltd, to accelerate its growth and expansion. Through the Scottish Co-investment Fund and our partners such as Highland Venture Capital we can help make this happen.”

Formed just over 12 months ago, Inverness-based Highland Venture Capital now has in excess of 30 members, with the majority based in the Highlands. Iain Scott, HVC’s Chairman, has seen the number grow rapidly. HVC members have already invested significant sums into companies in co-operation with other Scottish business angel groups.

The Scottish Co-investment Fund has recently been awarded £32 million, to be invested over the next seven years, through European Structural Funding. This funding, matched with £40 million from Scottish Enterprise, will mean young, cutting edge Scottish companies can access a £72 million equity investment fund for their development and growth.

HVC’s legal advisors Innes & Mackay Limited’s Director of Corporate and Commercial, Calum I Duncan, led the investment to legal completion. He states, “We are very pleased to have completed this deal for HVC and the Scottish Coinvestment Fund. It is significant both for HVC investors and for the Highland region generally that HVC has partnered with the Scottish Co-Investment Fund in this deal and we hope that future HVC investments will benefit from a similar approach.”