Archangel Investors, the prominent business angel investment syndicate, has completed an initial GBP1.2 million round of fundraising for Optoscribe, a Livingston-based optical technology business. The fundraising was led by Archangels, who provided GBP825,000 of funding, supported by Par Equity, the Edinburgh venture capital firm, with GBP325,000 of investment, and Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) who invested GBP50,000.   Optoscribe was founded in 2010 as a spin out business from Heriot Watt University and has developed unique technology for use inside communications systems for the data communications, telecoms and mobile phone markets. This potentially disruptive technology enables Optoscribe to produce high performance

MPK Garages, an independent operator of UK forecourts, has received a GBP14m funding package to pursue its ambitious growth plans.  With the investment, the business plans to acquire additional forecourts and refresh parts of its existing estate to capitalise on the growing market for convenience shopping. BGF (Business Growth Fund) has invested GBP7 million of growth capital, while HSBC is providing GBP7 million in debt funding.   Leicester-headquartered MPK Garages currently operates 25 sites across the UK, the majority of which are freehold and located on trunk or major roads. The business is targeting both freehold and leasehold properties and,

Warren Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm, has completed an investment into Hydromax USA , a professional services company specialising in data collection for the purposes of locating and assessing the condition of water, wastewater and natural gas conveyance systems.  Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. For over a decade, Hydromax USA has been a leader in providing data services to utilities and municipalities for the management of wastewater and water infrastructure, as well as cross bore mitigation and leak detection services to natural gas utilities. The Company has experienced rapid growth over the past

8 Miles, the pan-African Private Equity firm, has invested in Verde Beef Processing, an Ethiopian agribusiness that specialises in producing premium beef in Adami Tulu, Oromia in Ethiopia.  The investment of new money will give 8 Miles a significant minority stake alongside the management team and founder investors. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.   Ethiopia has the sixth largest cattle population in the world and Verde Beef Processing operates a beef processing business situated on a 1,300 ha feedlot and crop-farming facility in  Adami Tulu, south of Addis Ababa. The business uses its feedlot facilities