AMBITIOUS SCOTTISH BIOTECH COMPANY APPOINTS FORMER ROBERT WISEMAN DIARIES DIRECTORS TO ITS NEW BOARD
· Food industry experts join board of ambitious ScotBio to accelerate the scale up of ground breaking natural food colourant production
11 February 2019: ScotBio, an ambitious Scottish biotech business, has announced that two former Executive Directors of Robert Wiseman Dairies plc have been appointed to the company’s board.
Martyn Mulcahy and David Dobbins held positions of Group Operations Director and Group Commercial Director respectively on the main board of the stock market listed dairy business before its sale to Müller.
In addition, Nick Trott has also joined the board bringing valuable financial expertise from his role as Finance Director of Sorbon Investments. Sorbon Investments, which is owned by Michael Shanly, was a significant investor in ScotBio’s recently oversubscribed £2m funding round, that also included investment syndicate Kelvin Capital, Investing Women, Oghma Partners and private investors in the UK and USA.
Both Martyn Mulcahy and David Dobbins are also early stage investors in ScotBio along with Robert Wiseman, the former Chief Executive of Robert Wiseman Diaries plc.
Tom Craig, Chairman of ScotBio said “The new board appointments bring unrivalled skills and experience in building businesses in the food sector. ScotBio is at an extremely exciting stage with patented IP, significant new investment and an exceptional team of scientists behind it. With the guidance of our outstanding board we are looking confidently to the future.”
David ‘D.C.’ Van Alstyne, Chief Executive Officer at ScotBio said. “ScotBio’s ambition is to be the world leader in the production of phycocyanin and other functional food ingredients. Our new board will undoubtedly bring us closer to realising our ambition. Our new directors have built one of the most successful food sector businesses in recent years and we will be working with them to make ScotBio another success story.”
Martyn Mulcahy said: “It's exciting to be part of this outstanding team, building this truly innovative business that is ScotBio. Upscaling the business quickly is a key task and my experience gained in developing Robert Wiseman Dairies into a market leader, will help the team to make this happen.”
David Dobbins said: “The food industry is constantly looking for innovation in products and in ways of guaranteeing traceability and security of supply. ScotBio has refined a novel method of producing a natural product that the food industry has a strong interest in. Assisting the ScotBio team understand the demands of food industry, both commercially and operationally, will be a big part of my role. I have full confidence in our ability to deliver.”
Nick Trott said: “Sorbon Investments are excited to be involved with ScotBio particularly as this is our first food industry investment outside our core property business. I look forward to working with their first class team and assisting them with whatever financial advice they require.”
Based in BioCity Glasgow, the biotech incubator located just outside Glasgow, ScotBio has developed a patented, vessel-based process to respond to worldwide demand for ‘clean labels’ and products free of artificial colours by providing FMCG’s with traceable, natural blue and green colourants.
Natural blues and greens are produced using phycocyanin, an algae derived pigment which received international regulatory approval in 2013. Phycocyanin rich algae is traditionally grown in pond systems, which are seasonal and subject to environmental contamination but ScotBio through academic collaborations with Newcastle University and The University of Edinburgh has developed systems that are modular and scalable and capable of meeting the demand from global food manufacturers.
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Issued on behalf of ScotBio by Wave PR Ltd. For further information please contact Jonathan Kennedy on 0141-225-0400 or at jonathan@wavepr.co.uk
Notes to editors
Kelvin Capital Ltd. (Lead Investor) is a Scottish based, private investment fund, with over 180 angel investors and a diverse portfolio of 23 investee companies having made investments of over £25 million to date.
Investing Women is Scotland’s only all-female business angel group and a dynamic and growing community of women angel investors and entrepreneurs. The group’s CEO and founder is Jackie Waring, an accomplished businesswoman who has advised the UK Government on encouraging and supporting female entrepreneurialism. Jackie was also the UK’s first Advisory Board Member to the Global Banking Alliance for Women, based in Washington DC.
Oghma Partners LLP is a Food & Beverage focused corporate finance boutique. Established in 2008 by former Goldman Sachs and Citigroup bankers Mark Lynch and Tim Owen, the business focuses on providing corporate finance advice to businesses that operate across the EMEA region. Aside from ‘plain vanilla’ Food & Beverage deals, Oghma also focuses on the ingredients sector and has completed a series of deals involving counterparties such as Cargill, Kerry Group, Ornua, DSM and Solina. Oghma Partners offices are based in Mayfair, London where the 10 person multi-lingual team is located. The team is supplemented by an associate network of counterparties spread across Europe, the Americas and Asia.