Nova Innovation, the tidal energy company which hosted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s energy launch, is in talks with investors to raise £20 million and is pencilling a flotation over the next two years.

The Leith-based company is speaking to angel groups, private equity firms and institutions to help expand its international reach by selling equity.

Nova chief executive Simon Forrest said the company was “close to making some announcements on important projects in the UK and overseas.”

It has project sites in Scotland, Wales, France, Canada and Indonesia. In January it announced that it has the largest number of tidal turbines anywhere in the world. It recently unveiled a move into solar-powered turbines.

The company received £6.4m from the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) in 2021 to help boost its production of innovative renewable energy generators.

“It is now about acceleration and scaling”, Mr Forest told Daily Business.“We have all the ace cards, now we have to play them.”

Asked if an initial public offering (IPO) was on the agenda, he replied: “Not yet. But it is something that is on the horizon. We will be IPO ready and we want to move fast.”