While Scotland is home to a great many growing businesses, only a handful got funding boosts or made acquisitions that were deemed worthy of a Deals and Dealmakers award this year.
So Insider spoke to some of the companies that came out on top in order to find out what changes they've made recently which have driven rapid growth and how they pulled off such impressive corporate finance strategies.
Our overall Deal of the Year winner, and also recipient of Sale of the Year, was Current Health, for its £300m acquisition by Best Buy, which was the second largest healthtech exit in Europe last year.
The Edinburgh-based wearable tech business - whose software and hardware remotely monitors patients' vital signs in real time - experienced rapid growth during the pandemic, as its products helped with combatting the Covid-19 virus.
Current Health was founded in 2015 by chief executive Christopher McCann and chief technology officer Stewart Whiting. Its device worn around the patient's arm sends data via WiFi to the platform through which healthcare professionals can be alerted to any sudden deterioration.
Chief operating office Richard Lennox explained that the deal with US group Best Buy has significantly expanded the value it can offer the market, as well as improving health outcomes for many millions of people.
"As more care moves into the home, organisations need better infrastructure to scale," he said. "In the last year, we've been busy building capabilities to support customers through better in-home and virtual support, whether it's through our recent pilot with Geek Squad in the US or by expanding our 24/7 Clinical Command Center to support customers in the UK."
Lennox added that the company has "big things in store" and that the growth strategy is based around broadening the scope and scale of what the platform supports "through deeper technology integrations and continued investment in the services to deliver the last mile of care".
In October last year, Dalbeattie-based reseller of refurbished servers, storage and network equipment announced it was on target to hit a turnover of £15m - just two years after reaching £10m.
At that stage ETB Technologies employed 60 staff - after doubling headcount year-on-year - with plans to grow that figure further over the next five years. As a result, it opened two new sites in Bellshill and Sheffield.
But it was the company's acquisition by Swedish investment company Röko in February that confirmed the next stage of growth, and ultimately won the SME Deal of the Year award.
Nick Stapleton, managing director of ETB Technologies, said that he has continued our focus on people, products and changing perceptions.
"Since we were founded, we have been proud to be one of the biggest employers locally in Dalbeattie and that is a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.
"We have seen more demand for networking equipment, which drove us to open a new workshop and hire more people to support the refurbishment of incoming equipment.
"However, almost more important than this is a change in external perception of refurbished enterprise IT equipment - since the pandemic hit, there have been significant delays in the creation of semiconductors and the supply chain is yet to right itself," he explained.
"Being able to supply refurbished goods direct from stock has helped many customers who were struggling to find new equipment and couldn’t delay upgrading their systems - these customers will return to us, saving themselves money and assisting the circular economy.
Stapleton said that having Röko on board as a long-term investor has given him the confidence to invest in Scottish facilities and increase capacity, while also looking further into Europe, which already makes up around 40% of revenue.
"Over the coming year, we're looking towards extending the international reach of ETB and increasing our customer base around the world.
"We also plan to ensure our team in our Dalbeattie and Bellshill bases have what they need to grow and promote the benefits of a career in technology," he added.
At the start of April, Target Healthcare was backed with £20m of working capital to see through plans to grow organically and through acquisitions.
The funding package from Santander UK should provide the Glasgow-headquartered pharmaceutical manufacturer with what it needs to expand the client base throughout the UK.
The business is looking to build on recent deals for Pern Consumer Products, which produces eczema treatment brand Dermacool, and Quantum Pharmaceutical, which is focused on the manufacture of medications.
It is now targeting an increase in annual turnover of more than 40% this year, on the £75m it achieved in 2021.
All this was enough to convince the judging panel to award Target Healthcare with the Transformational Deal of the Year award.
Gillian Grant, finance director at the firm, said the funding has extended its offering within the pharmaceutical sector, ensuring more patients have access to the medicines they require.
Practically, the money has also helped solidify manufacturing capabilities and customer base in the UK market.
"This transaction has truly transformed Target Healthcare and it is fantastic to get the recognition publicly from the judging panel," said Grant.
As for future plans, she explained that "significant investment" was being made in infrastructure to meet the needs of more patients.
"We're also planning continued growth through acquisition, with one transaction already completed in 2022 and several more in the pipeline."
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