Edinburgh biotech start-up gets £2.6m injection to grow team and scale up business

An Edinburgh-based start-up that develops and produces “high-value” natural products derived from plant cell cultures is looking to grow its team after securing £2.6 million in funding.

The capital injection into Green Bioactives was led by Eos Advisory and included investments from London-based Regenerate Ventures’ Agtech Fund, London and Singapore co-headquartered Milltrust International Group and Scottish Enterprise, which also provided the company with advisory support. The financing will enable the business to grow its management, production and research team capabilities, allowing it to demonstrate its biomanufacturing approach at larger scale.

Green Bioactives is currently working with several “world-leading” partners to produce high value bioactives that cannot be readily produced sustainably or economically using alternative production approaches. Those tie-ups include a multinational consumer goods company developing and selling products in foods and drinks, home care, personal care and cosmetics. The firm, which was established in 2020 and is currently based at the Roslin Innovation Centre, just south of the city, is also working with a major biotechnology outfit developing and selling products for commercial applications in pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare and agriculture.

The funds will also be used to pursue new sector-specific commercial partnerships, to increase marketing efforts and product sales and to secure intellectual property rights. To meet these goals, the firm has already begun hiring for a range of commercial and technical roles across the business. Meanwhile, Andrew Durkie, a partner at Eos, will join the Green Bioactives board.

David McElroy, chief executive of Green Bioactives, said: “This £2.6m seed funding is an incredibly exciting milestone for Green Bioactives, and we’re delighted to have attracted such a strong international investor base - demonstrating the global commercial potential of our plant cell culture-based biomanufacturing platform. The investment comes at a key time for the company, as we prepare for further growth and continue to develop our technology, working towards our goal of becoming the world’s leading supplier of safe, natural and sustainably-sourced plant-derived products.”

Durkie added: “Green Bioactives has demonstrated significant progress on its platform since its formation, and we’re excited to be helping the company develop further as part of this seed round.”