Equity Gap has made changes to its top team aimed at expanding its portfolio across Scotland and the UK.
Fraser Lusty becomes managing director, while the Edinburgh-based angel investment syndicate's founder Jock Millican moves to a new position of executive chair.
Rhona Bree joins Equity Gap from Scottish Enterprise as a senior investment and portfolio manager.
She brings more than 10 years’ experience of supporting early stage companies, from initial investment to follow-on funding and successful exits.
The announcements follow a record year for the syndicate last year, with total investments into portfolio companies reaching £200m. During 2022, Equity Gap members invested more than £7m across 30 funding rounds, leveraging total funding of £70m – more than double the figure for 2021.
Lusty said: “Everyone at Equity Gap is indebted to Jock for his forward thinking, leadership, and determination in establishing the Equity Gap brand and portfolio.
“We are delighted to welcome Rhona to the team given her knowledge of and connections across the early stage ecosystem in Scotland.
“My immediate focus for Equity Gap is to develop new strategic relationships, open up new capital opportunities and partnerships, and attract significant new investors to Scotland, to create jobs in sectors where tech-led disruption has a key role to play.
“Equity Gap’s maturing portfolio is generating increasing M&A interest, which we expect to create positive outcomes for investors over the coming year.”
Equity Gap specialises in matching investors with entrepreneurs looking for early-stage funding.
The firm has invested in more than 40 companies, making it one of Scotland’s top three angel investment syndicates, as well as being ranked at number siz in the UK by Beauhurst.
The syndicate has created more than 600 jobs, primarily in Scotland, across sectors including green technologies, life sciences, manufacturing, digital technologies and food and drink.
Millican started Equity Gap in 2010, following a career primarily in brewing. A former Scotland rugby international, he is currently a court assessor at Edinburgh University and chair of LINC Scotland, the national angel capital association.
Lusty joined Equity Gap in 2011 and became a director in 2014. He has over 30 years of experience and has led skill-building programmes in Canada and the Middle East. He is an ambassador with Women’s Enterprise Scotland, championing diversity in the Scottish angel investment sector.
Bree is a chartered accountant, having trained with PwC and previously spent eight years in Bank of Scotland’s infrastructure and private equity investment teams, in both Edinburgh and London.
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