M Squared Lasers
Advanced Tech, AI & Data • Scotland • Growth
Company
information
Total BGF investment
£6.4m
Investment date
April 2012
BGF & M Squared Lasers
In 2012, we invested £3.85m into Glasgow-based M Squared Lasers. The Scottish tech company manufactures and supplies laser systems, with applications in quantum tech, biophotonics and chemical sensing. Clients include world-leading research institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, MIT, Harvard and Stanford.
We later provided the business with several rounds of follow-on funding, between 2014 and 2016, taking total BGF investment to £6.4m. Alongside this, we introduced M Squared to its non-executive chair, Andy Roberts.
Our long-term investment and support enabled M Squared to scale its manufacturing capacity and expand in key export markets. The company was recognised by both the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 and Sunday Times Fast Track for its success, winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2016.
In 2020, M Squared raised £32.5m in new funding from Santander and the Scottish National Investment Bank. This was used to fund the acquisition of a substantial part of our equity shareholding. At this point, M Squared had already grown 10-fold, doubling its revenues every two years since we first invested. We continue to retain a meaningful stake in the business.
“BGF has been great. The team in Scotland do everything they can to help, not just in investment but also with PR and access to their Talent Network, which helps us to look for non-execs and other positions in the company.”
CEO of M Squared Lasers