Start-up support sees deal values rise to £100m – Daily Business

Venture Capital (VC) investment into Scotland’s start-up and scaling businesses increased slightly in the opening quarter of 2025, according to the latest KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse report.

Twenty-seven investments were concluded in the region, highlighting sustained appetite among VC investors looking to support Scotland’s burgeoning start-up community.

Having raised £92.3 million in the final quarter of 2024, business in the region received £100.5m from VC investors in the first three months of this year – an 8% increase – and marks a small increase on figures from Q1 2024, when £98m was raised.

The largest raise was for Blk Global, a Glasgow-based online commodity and industrial supplies marketplace, which raised £50m, and drove the business-to-business products and services sector’s dominance in deal values across Scotland.

Other key deals included a £13.4m investment in IONATE, which is developing grid-scale power technology to support the net zero transition, and £8.8m in OCEANIUM, a producer of innovative seaweed-based ingredients for food and health.

With two fifths (41%) of investments made in Edinburgh-based firms, and 30% in Glasgow, firms in places such as Falkirk, Oban and Stonehaven contributed to the remaining deal value (£19.7m).

Vishal Chopra, Senior Partner for KPMG in Scotland, said: “It’s encouraging to see the latest investment figures reaffirm what we already know about Scotland’s start-up ecosystem: it’s diverse, resilient and brimming with high-growth potential. Crucially, investor appetite remains strong, providing the capital and confidence these businesses need to scale.

“While B2B services continue to lead the charge, it’s also promising to see consumer and healthcare sectors gaining ground, particularly in emerging growth clusters beyond Scotland’s major urban centres.

“With a solid foundation of data behind us, now is the time to double down, supporting innovation where it’s happening and nurturing these bright spots. This is where the strength of the broader ecosystem, including advisors, mentors and fellow founders, really comes into play.”

The UK remains No. 1 in Europe for VC investors despite a fall in both overall investment and number of deals, according to the new figures.

The report showed that the UK continues to come out on top across the EU with a total of £4.1bn raised across 507 deals during the first quarter of 2025.