BGF invests £135m in Scots firms in five years

More than £135 million has been invested in Scottish businesses by the Business Growth Fund (BGF) since it was launched five years ago.

Arran Aromatics is among the firms to have secured backing from the BGF. Picture: Sandy Young

The initiative, set up to fill a funding gap and backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered, has invested in 17 small and mid-sized businesses north of the border, including laser manufacturer M Squared Lasers, engineering business STATS Group, Keenan Recycling and Arran Aromatics.

In total, the Scottish businesses employ more than 2,000 people and generate revenues of £234m.

Andy Gregory, BGF regional director for Scotland said: “There’s no shortage of innovative small and mid-sized businesses coming to talk to us. We have an appetite to continue to invest and to support local businesses.”

Last year BGF launched BGF Ventures, the UK’s largest venture capital fund focused solely on earlier-stage UK tech companies.