Medical firm's £22m sale a 'milestone' for business angel group

A MEDICAL device maker based in Glasgow has been sold to a Danish company in a £22 million deal that has been hailed as an "important milestone" for angel investors.

The sale of Mpathy Medical to Coloplast will trigger a 11.8 million pay out for Archangels, the Scottish business angel syndicate, and 4.2m for Scottish Enterprise's co-investment fund.

Archangel invested 5.6m in the company, while Scottish Enterprise pumped in 2m.

Mpathy, which makes mesh used to treat female urinary stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, was founded in 2003 by Dr James Browning, a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

John Waddell, Archangel's chief executive, said: "We recognised James Browning's skill and inventiveness at the time of first investing and, when the company had reached the point of launch into the US market, we introduced Ian Stevens - previously general manager for North America at Optos - as chief executive to lead the sales thrust."

Mpathy's office in Massachusetts will give the Danish firm an increased foothold in the North American market.

David Grahame, director at Linc Scotland, the national association for business angels, said: "This is a fantastic achievement and an important milestone for angel investment.

"It reinforces Scotland's reputation for entrepreneurship and innovation and is a real success story for the co-investment fund. The support Archangel and other angel groups have provided to Scottish start-up companies is key to the future growth of the country and our ability to ride the current economic storm."

Browning, who serves as Mpathy's chief technology officer, said: "I'm very proud of Mpathy's accomplishments and look forward to improving outcomes for women as part of Coloplast."

He paid tribute to the support he had received from Archangels and Scottish Enterprise.