Macdonald Henderson advises on acquisition of particle analysis company

Macdonald Henderson advised Old College Capital LP (OCC) in its recent investment in Particle Analytics Limited, a spin out from the University of Edinburgh. The Macdonald Henderson team was led by Fraser Morrison.

OCC are the in-house capital fund of the University of Edinburgh and invested in Particle Analytics in conjunction with technology investor Mercia in what was Mercia’s first investment in Scotland.

Particle Analytics incorporated in February 2015 and has quickly gained traction in its target market of DEM (Discrete Element Method) for the analysis of solid particles, which is currently worth around £100 million.

It has now established itself as a disruptive technology, delivering significant efficiencies and business improvements to multi-national organisations that handle large volumes of particulate solids, such as the grain in combine harvesters, or the manufacturers of asphalt for roads.

The company already has a strong sales pipeline to a variety of companies in different industrial sectors, such as mining, pharma, chemical, and construction. Existing blue chip customers include Procter & Gamble, Johnson Matthey, Pfizer and Astec Inc.

The investment by OCC and Mercia totalled £290,000 and the company will use the funds to build its team and product ahead of a full commercial product launch later this year.

Andrea Young, Old College capital fund manager said: “It was a natural fit for Old College Capital to co-invest with Mercia Fund Management in their first Scottish university spin-out investment deal, and hopefully one of many given the growing strength of Edinburgh’s tech community.”