Start-up companies land more than £700,000 funding

EIGHTEEN of Scotland’s “brightest and most innovative” start-up companies have secured more than £700,000 of funding from the Scottish Government.

The “Edge” fund – which is operated by Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise – was created in October with £2 million of Holyrood cash.

More than 200 firms applied for the money, with 30 selected to pitch their ideas in a Dragons’ Den style event in front of a panel of judges that included Diet Chef founder Kevin Dorren, Scottish Enterprise chairman Crawford Gillies, The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust’s Julie Grieve, City Refrigeration boss Sir Willie Haughey and Gordon Merrylees, RBS’s managing director of business banking in Scotland.

Sixteen of the 18 start-ups that secured funding came from the Entrepreneurial Spark programme, which was set up by Jim Duffy, Haughey and Sir Tom Hunter and which runs “incubation” centres for firms in Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Duffy said: “Once again we are immensely proud of the creativity and determination that our entrepreneurs have shown.”

More than £540,000 was handed out to 17 companies in February during the first Edge funding round.

Merrylees added: “The finalists of the second round of awards showed that the calibre of new Scottish entrepreneurs is extremely high and RBS will continue to support the winners by providing them with mentoring, essential advice to help protect many aspects of their business and a free banking package.”