The all-island network said its members have invested €177m into more than 730 start-ups since its creation in 2007.

Investors connected to the Halo Business Angels Network (HBAN) invested €33m across the island of Ireland last year.

HBAN said this investment is a new record for the network and was used to support 78 companies in 2022. The network said the milestone reflects a steady growth in angel investment across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The organisation said the number of deals also increased last year, with more than 300 HBAN angel investors making nearly 700 individual investments across 86 deals, an increase of 21pc from 2021.

Some of the start-ups HBAN invested in last year include Belfast biotech Amply Discovery, which is looking to tackle infectious diseases, and Rock Extraction, a Northern Irish start-up developing a rock-breaking tool for the mining industry.

The figures also show that 30pc of the deals closed in 2022 were investments in companies either led or founded by women.

A joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland, HBAN was established in 2007 for the promotion of business angel investment and to boost business angel syndicates. The organisation said its angels have invested €177m in more than 730 start-ups since its creation.

HBAN’s all-island director John Phelan thanked its members, syndicate chairs and the various companies it has supported for helping to give the organisation its “most successful year to date”.

“Since 2007, our network of investors has been providing the capital, knowledge, mentoring and strategic introductions that start-ups need in their infancy,” Phelan said. “Not only that, but they also have a direct impact on a company’s ability to leverage additional funds from other sources.

“We are extremely proud that through our angels’ investments of €177m, we have also been able to help start-ups to leverage an additional €387m in funding.”

Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy congratulated HBAN for its 2022 achievement and said it was a year when “we saw a tightening investment market internationally”.

“Most importantly we wish to acknowledge the commitment of the business angels who have directly impacted the growth and financial stability of our most disruptive young companies,” Clancy said.

Reporting: Silicon Republic