EDINBURGH-based angel syndicate, Equity Gap, has reached a £25m investment milestone following its most successful year to date. Leveraging additional funding of over £100m for investee companies since its launch, these investments have helped create over 500 high quality jobs in Scotland, worth around £20m each year to the Scottish economy.
During 2021, Equity Gap members invested £4m across 28 funding rounds, leveraging total funding of £34m into investee companies. Key funding partners include Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures, Alba Equity, Archangels, Kelvin Capital, Par Equity, Foresight Group and, for the first time, the Scottish National Investment Bank.
The recent trade sale of Spoonfed to 365 Retail Markets, backed by Providence Equity Partners, delivered returns for 31 of the syndicate’s members, including seven of the original founder members.
Equity Gap’s portfolio now stands at 37 companies, including new 2021 investees Brewgooder, Pneumagen, PneumoWave, Quickblock, Sharktower and UlemCo. 90% of new companies funded by Equity Gap in the last two years either operate in the clean tech sectors or offer new solutions in healthcare, reflecting growing investor interest in sustainability-driven businesses.
In 2021, Equity Gap became a signatory of the Investing in Women code and continues to support and advocate for female entrepreneurs and investors. The syndicate also established a ‘Leaders Club’ for founders and CEOs to help build knowledge sharing and peer collaboration.
Leah Hutcheon, founder of Equity Gap portfolio company Appointedd, comments: “Pitching to Equity Gap’s diverse board of investors has always made us feel at ease and we really appreciate the help and support we get from collaborating with such a varied portfolio of companies. We have been particularly impressed by the work Equity Gap does to encourage networking and cooperation between its portfolio companies.”
Portfolio company highlights in 2021 include Enterobiotix completing a £5m purpose-built pharma manufacturing facility in Bellshill, Sunamp securing contracts in China and the US worth over £50m, Trojan Energy winning the Early Stage Deal of the Year at the Deal and Dealmakers awards, and significant scale up activity across the portfolio.
Equity Gap moves into 2022 with eight pipeline funding rounds valued at over £10m due to complete in the first quarter and more potential exits in development.
Fraser Lusty, Equity Gap director, comments: “2021 has seen outstanding progress from companies across our portfolio, culminating in the Spoonfed exit. We already have a strong pipeline of commercial traction and fundraising to build on this success in 2022 and beyond.”
