Insider Media Limited

A Staffordshire-based investor has passed the £4m mark after investing £10,000 in Compact Science Systems, also based in Staffordshire. The organisation, which has supported the creation of 1,800 jobs, told Insider that the last year has been "the most successful year to date".

Michelin Development invests in small and medium sized businesses that can create new employment and was set up five years ago.

The company, which has a base in Staffordshire, says it has no plans to expand out of the four regions it currently operates in, as director Mike Cole said that he "knows the areas well, and wants to put something back into the communities".

The most recent cash injection from Michelin Development has been channeled into developing Compact Science Systems’ portable spectrometer equipment, which is the only instrument of its type in the world.

The spectrometer is used to search for oil and gas fields by measuring the isotopes of carbon in the gases produced from exploratory bore holes.

The company’s technical director, Dennis Leigh, developed part of the technology for the Beagle 2 Mars Lander telescope.

James Leigh, managing director of Compact Science, said: “The Michelin Development loans fund is really important to a company like ours. Although we are considered to be an important company for the future in terms of the innovative, groundbreaking technology we are involved in developing, the support from the traditional lenders does not reflect this.”

Cole said: “We are extremely pleased to see the fund go past the £4m mark but more importantly, we are extremely proud to have supported the creation of 1,800 jobs.

“We want to create a climate in which other start-ups and enterprises can flourish and in doing so contribute towards successful, local business communities and economies which thrive and grow for many years into the future.”