ST ANDREWS-based investment firm Eos Advisory’s portfolio has reached a total valuation of £121 million based on latest investment rounds, and saw its first two exit events in 2021, including when Genus Plc acquired a large stake in aquaculture specialist Xelect.
In January 2021, Eos announced that it had led a £1.24 million 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 CEO Rotimi Alabi, RAB-Microfluidics has since grown the team and gained significant sales.
In February 2021, Eos secured its first strategic investment partnership with US-based Kineticos Life Sciences, to co-invest in early stage Scottish companies. The venture partnership aims to invest over £10 million over the next five years in oncology-focused life sciences ventures.
In June, sustainable food protein scale-up Enough (previously called 3F BIO), a University of Strathclyde spin-out, secured a $43 million Series B round, one of the largest investment rounds into a Scottish technology company to date.
In July, RNA and DNA genetic sequencing specialist Wobble Genomics, a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and founded by CEO Richard Kuo, secured a £2.15 million round led by Eos. Wobble has developed a range of hardware and software tools that give scientists and clinicians a more detailed picture of our underlying biology.
The past year has also been focused on building the Eos team including the appointment of Chris Brinsmead CBE, 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 three investment pillars in place: the Eos Syndicate, Eos Innovation Fund, and Eos Venture Partnerships. This is part of a wider strategy to support the funding of Scottish innovation beyond the seed stage.
Andrew McNeill, Managing Partner, Eos Advisory, said: “Over the past twelve months, Eos Advisory has seen significant growth both in our portfolio and in our core business. We already had a strong track record for due diligence and supporting our portfolio, but we have found that better communicating our focus and process as impact investors has really widened our network of investors and our opportunities.”
“Our modus operandi is to continue supporting our companies post-investment, and helping them to grow. On the investor side, we have expanded the investor base outside Scotland, especially across the UK and North America. 2022 is going to be another exciting year and we have a number of milestone announcements in the pipeline.”
Mark Beaumont, Partner, Eos Advisory, said: “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, and the addition of our EIS Innovation Fund in 2021 has allowed a new way for us to support these businesses. In 2022, we aim to continue this growth pattern with a second raise of our EIS Innovation Fund.’
Founded in 2014, Eos has a portfolio of 13 investee companies including Cumulus Oncology, ILC Therapeutics, and Clinspec DX. Eos invests in four key impact areas: disease diagnosis, prevention and treatment; energy security, climate change and pollution; food and water security, and; sustainability of industrial processes and infrastructure.
