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Scottish businesses remain attractive to investors as 23 firms shared funding worth over £85m in the second quarter of 2024, KPMG has revealed.
The latest KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse report has shown that companies from across the region – including Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee and Glasgow – enjoyed a boost totalling £85.3m in the past three months.
This means that, in the first half of the year, 42 firms have shared out £184m in the form of venture capital (VC) investment.
Standout deals completed during the second three months of the year include £13m for Edinburgh-based Prothea Technologies, £8.8m for iGii, based in Stirling, and £10m for Dundee outfit Outrun TX.
Amy Burnett, KPMG private enterprise senior manager in Scotland, said: “We’re seeing continued investment in firms across Scotland, and I hope that we continue to see investment of a similar or larger size for the remainder of 2024.
“Whilst we are not experiencing a big uptick in VC money deployed, I remain hopeful for a calmer second half to the year now we have a new UK government in place. I’m pleased to see continued investment in exciting technologies in Scotland that are solving real world problems, and I look forward to watching these businesses grow.”
Elsewhere in the UK, the survey showed the first signs of recovery in Q2 24, with the amount raised more than doubling the amount raised in Q1 24.
After a quiet opening to the year, which saw just £3bn in VC funding raised by UK businesses — the lowest amount seen in 22 quarters, activity picked up “dramatically” in Q2 24 with £6.9bn raised. This was also up year-on-year on the £4.7bn raised in Q2 23 as investor sentiment started to become more positive, according to the data supplied by Pitchbook.
Graeme Williams, head of corporate finance M&A for Scotland, KPMG UK, added: “Scotland’s figures continue to be strong in the second quarter and with more stable market conditions, and hopefully investment levels continue to grow during the final two quarters of the year.”
