Par Equity, the Edinburgh-based multi-award-winning venture capital firm, has led investments totalling £3.2m in two Northern Irish software companies, Plotbox and Datactics.

The companies represent a growing collective of technology firms based in the country benefitting from consistent support for start-ups from the private and public sector. A study published last year by the Enterprise Research Centre showed that compared to the rest of the UK, a higher proportion of Northern Irish companies exceeded £1m turnover within three years.