£2m Pyreos funding is latest electronics deal for Braveheart

Published on Thursday 3 February 2011 21:13

BRAVEHEART has led a £2 million funding round for an Edinburgh electronics company in the latest in a string of deals for the Perth-based investment firm.

Siemens Technology Accelerator, Seraphim Capital, Scottish Enterprise's venture fund and Braveheart's clients - who include business angels and high-net-worth individuals - all took part in the deal with Pyreos.

The company, formed in 2007 to exploit technology created at Siemens - makes infra-red sensors that are used in a range of industries from medical diognistics to renewable energy.

This is the third funding round that Aim-quoted Braveheart has led for the firm, having previously invested 2m in 2007 and 1m in 2009.

Pyreos, which is based at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre in Edinburgh, has also appointed technology veteran Tony Lear as its chairman. Lear has 40 years' experience in the electronics and semiconductor industries, having worked at groups including Texas Instruments and Philips.

The funding deal is the latest in a string of investments for Braveheart, which last month led a 1.1m investment in Livingston-based electronics company Design LED Products.

In December, the investor put together a 300,000 funding package for Tayside Flow Technologies, which is developing medical equipment.

Envestors - the London-based corporate finance firm that Braveheart bought last year - has also recently invested in Payasugym and Chargemaster.

Geoffrey Thomson, Braveheart's chief executive, said: "I think investors are interested in tax-efficient ways of using their money at the moment. They're not getting any return from the banks so high-net-worth individuals are looking at other ways of using their cash.

"We've had a string of funding rounds recently because investors are keen to complete deals before the end of the tax year."