Fibre optics spin-out wins fresh funding in latest deal by Braveheart

A SCOTTISH electronics firm that has developed a device for speeding up broadband networks yesterday received a fresh six-figure cash boost to ramp up production.

Livingston-based Conjunct, which was spun out of Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University in 2004, received £340,000 from a group led by Braveheart, the Perth-based investment firm.

Conjunct, which has secured nearly £1 million of investment over the past three years, has developed a device that allows more data to be carried down optical fibre cables at faster speeds.

Instead of traditional copper wires, down which electrical signals pass, optical fibres use beams of light to carry information along very thin glass tubes.

The Scottish Investment Bank’s co-investment fund and a group of Braveheart’s clients, mostly wealthy individuals, also took part in yesterday’s funding.

The investment follows £280,000 being injected into the firm last year – with cash coming from Braveheart, the co-investment fund and business angel network Linc Scotland – and £300,000 in 2008.

Conjunct is already in discussions with large makers of fibre optic cabling to include its device – called Fibre-Lyte – within their equipment. The latest cash will also be used to expand its engineering work.

Ken Allstaff, the firm’s chief executive, said: “We are keen to move to the next stage of the company’s growth and are delighted to have again secured backing from Braveheart to allow us to offer Fibre-Lyte at costs and quantities that will enable continued market traction.”

Braveheart chief executive Geoffrey Thomson told The Scotsman: “This is a very strong company and we’re very confident in the technology they have developed. We have high hopes for this firm.”

Investing in Conjunct rounds off a busy year for Braveheart, which has seen a series of investments in other Scottish electronics businesses.

In February, the investor led a £2m funding round for Edinburgh-based Pyreos, a company spun out from German electronics giant Siemens in 2007 to develop infra-red sensors.

Siemens, Scottish Enterprise’s venture fund and Seraphim Capital also took part in the investment round for Pyreos.

Livingston-based Design LED Products received two cash injections led by Braveheart over the course of the year.

The company, which makes components for flat-screen televisions and computer monitors, received £1.1m in January from the Perth investor, Siemens and the co-investment fund.

A further £639,000 followed in August, with Tri Cap, Highland Venture Capital, Scottish Enterprise and Braveheart’s clients taking part. Braveheart itself was also the subject of investment in June, when the firm raised £950,000 from existing investors, including DC Thomson, the Dundee-based publisher that owns the Beano and Dandy comics. The deal also involved Uberior Investments, the private equity division of Bank of Scotland, and Kenmore Private Equity both selling their stakes in Braveheart.