Small businesses operating in the drinks, healthcare, recruitment and creative industries are among those to benefit from a £150 million fund launched to improve access to finance and boost rates of growth.

The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland has agreed a string of deals just six months since it was launched. Cosmetic surgery group Elanic Clinic, oat milk cocktail brand Panther M*lk, life sciences recruitment firm Entrust Resource Solutions, graphic design consultancy John Young Group and a whisky labelling business have collectively secured £3.25m of loans from the fund. The five debt funding deals are being managed by FSE Group.

Earlier this year, the British Business Bank announced the first equity deals from the new Scottish investment fund through fund manager Maven Capital Partners, supporting med-tech firms Carcinotech and Calcivis, while Kedras Clinics benefited from the first loan from the fund via DSL Business Finance.

Vivek Sivarajan, director at Elanic Clinic: 'FSE Group and the Investment Fund for Scotland have provided a welcome boost to help with our expansion project.'

Mark Sterritt, director, nations and regions funds at the British Business Bank, said: “It is great to see the impact that the Investment Fund for Scotland has delivered for smaller businesses across a diverse mix of sectors in only six months. The latest loans via FSE Group bring us to a milestone £5m, which is helping several businesses to achieve ambitions for growth and expansion.”

Based in Glasgow city centre, Elanic Clinic plans to use a £2m funding package to support the development of its private healthcare facilities, with a new hospital space set to open towards the end of the summer. The expansion will see the clinic open a “state-of-the-art” operating theatre, triple its capacity to treat self-pay and private medical insurance patients and create 75 jobs over the next couple of years.

Director Vivek Sivarajan said: “FSE Group and the Investment Fund for Scotland have provided a welcome boost to help with our expansion project. The facilities will give the clinic new in-house capabilities to look after patients overnight, as well as enabling us to offer different types of treatments with industry-leading equipment for the likes of keyhole surgery. This funding has been critical in getting us one step closer to being ready to welcome the first patients.”

Norrie Cook, head of fund Scotland at FSE Group, added: “We are pleased to announce our first deals completed from the Investment Fund for Scotland. Since the fund launched our team have been inundated with enquiries from businesses across Scotland varying in size, sector, funding requirements and background.”

Meanwhile, BGF, formerly the Business Growth Fund, has made a £2.5m follow-on investment in Edinburgh-based Hyble, which is behind marketing technology aimed at the drinks and hospitality sector, as part of a £2.8m funding round. In addition to a client list that includes major drinks brands such as Pernod Ricard, Diageo and Bacardi, Hyble has now launched with soft drinks customers in Ireland and Germany.

The firm’s expansion into the US has driven 73 per cent year on year revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, and the growth of Hyble’s team across the UK and US to almost 100 people.

British Business Bank officially launches £150m fund to turbocharge growing Scottish firms

Glasgow cosmetic surgery group among five more firms to tap into £150 million growth fund

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