Highland Venture Capital

Investing throughout Scotland in emerging business

Seeking Investment

Highland Venture Capital is an angel syndicate based in the Scottish Highlands focused on supporting ambitious, scalable businesses ready to make an impact. If you’re seeking investment, here are the key criteria we consider:

Investment Approach

  • Initial Funding: Typically between £75k to £100k, with potential for additional tranches tied to agreed milestones.
  • Investment: Larger sums possible when partnering with other funds, including Scottish Enterprise Co-Investment Scheme.
  • Equity Stake: We require a meaningful shareholding (minimum 20%).
  • EIS Relief: Preference for EIS Qualifying investments.
  • Exit Preference: Investments may include preferential rights on exit.

Business Requirements

  • Your business should be market-ready, beyond the research and development phase.
  • Must be scalable, with growth potential in both domestic and international markets.
  • Intellectual property must be properly protected.
  • A credible strategy with clear timelines for sales, profitability, and cash flow self-sufficiency.
  • A realistic plan to exit within five years, including milestones, timelines and manner of exit.
  • Ideally UK-based (preferably Scotland), with a solid operational base and not capital-intensive.

Sector Preferences

  • Most Sectors Considered
  • Protectable Technology
  • ‘Green’ opportunities

Sectors We Avoid

  • Property
  • Traditional Retail
  • Computer Games/Apps
  • Drug Development

Management Expectations

  • A complete, sector-experienced management team (including finance and sales), not reliant solely on one or two individuals.
  • HVC will provide support through an experienced Chair, Non-Executive Directors, and financial advice as needed.

Costs

  • Legal and due diligence fees on entry.
  • Charges for Chair/NXD support and an index-linked monthly monitoring fee.
  • A possible success fee upon exit.

Our Process

If you believe your company is a good fit for Highland Venture Capital, here’s the process:

  1. Send an Executive Summary
    Email a short executive summary to glenn@highvc.co.uk. If you’re unsure what to include, complete our HVC Investment Proposal Summary
  2. Initial Review
    We’ll review your proposal and provide feedback on its suitability. We’ll likely ask for background financials and forecasts to get a bigger picture of the business.
  3. Syndicate Discussion
    Your opportunity will be discussed at our next meeting. If we’re interested, you’ll be invited to present your business plan at a subsequent quarterly meeting.
  4. Investment Offer
    A successful presentation may lead to an investment offer, which will then be circulated to our members for completion.

A more detailed explanation of the process is given in Companies Info.