ST ANDREWS-based investment firm Eos Advisory has strengthened its team, with Andrew Durkie joining as a Partner, and Andy Lothian and Sandy Kennedy appointed as Non-executive Growth Advisors.
Andrew Durkie is a chartered accountant who brings over twenty years’ experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate transactions. A former corporate finance specialist with Deloitte, Durkie has held a range of roles in the financial sector including Head of Group M&A at HBOS plc and senior corporate development, finance and commercial roles at Lloyds Banking Group’s Insurance and Wealth division. He has also supported several early-stage businesses, including within the Eos portfolio.
Andy Lothian is the CEO at Dundee-headquartered Insights, the global people development group that operates in over 40 countries worldwide and counts Microsoft, Google, Nike, and the NHS among its client base. An EY Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, Lothian is a Member of Court at the University of Dundee, and is also an Advisory Board Member with the university’s Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Sandy Kennedy has twenty-five years experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, investor, and advisor to scaling companies, government and entrepreneurial support organisations, including as the longstanding CEO of Entrepreneurial Scotland, an advisory board member with Scottish EDGE, and a board member at Social Investment Scotland. Kennedy is a Director at venture capital-backed vertical farming scale-up Intelligent Growth Solutions.
Andrew McNeill, Managing Partner, Eos Advisory, said: “As Eos, our portfolio, and investments scale, it’s important that we continue to build a team that can help guide us through our next phase of growth. Along these lines, we’re really pleased to get Andrew, Andy, and Sandy on board.”
Eos Advisory operates three investment divisions – the Eos Syndicate, Eos Innovation Fund, and Eos Venture Partnerships, as part of a wider strategy to support the funding of Scottish innovation beyond the seed stage.
The firm’s portfolio now has a valuation of over £145 million, following a year in which Eos saw its first two exit events, including when Genus Plc acquired a large stake in aquaculture specialist Xelect. Another company in Eos’s portfolio, vegan protein specialist ENOUGH, formerly 3F Bio, secured a £36 million Series B investment round in June 2021.
Earlier this month, Eos invested in University of Bath spin-out Naturbeads alongside Italian venture capital firm Progress Tech Transfer. The £1.25 million seed funding round will support Naturbeads as it develops cellulose-based substitutes for plastic microbeads.
Andrew McNeill said: “Microbead plastic water pollution is a significant and hidden environmental hazard that the world is only just starting to wake up to. As countries and industries restrict and ban their use, the market for biodegradable replacements is vast.”
