The British Business Bank has helped raise over £2bn (€2.3bn) for 33 UK technology and life sciences companies, over half of which are university spinouts.
The Bank itself co-invested over £250m into these companies. It has also recently expanded its direct investment team to 13 people as the Bank gears up to increase its investment activity in UK scale-ups.
Furthermore, the Bank has announced that it has increased the amount that it can invest directly into UK companies at the forefront of driving innovation and growth from £15m to £60m.
The Bank is also working on the launch of the British Growth Partnership, which seeks to catalyse external institutional capital into the UK’s high-potential companies. The British Growth Partnership’s inaugural fund will invest directly into UK growth-stage companies, tapping into the Bank’s network and existing pipeline.
Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer at British Business Bank, said: “The Bank’s co-investing plays a critical role in providing scale-up capital, but we need to take this further.”
Kalisperas said there are still “plenty of high-potential and IP-rich companies” that need funding to scale into globally significant companies, particularly in the eight priority sectors of the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
Ian Connatty, managing partner at British Growth Partnership, added: “The British Growth Partnership will give pension funds access to the Bank’s live pipeline of scale-up businesses.
“We intend to hit the ground running as soon as we are ready to launch, providing a bridge between institutional investors and the UK’s thriving venture ecosystem.”
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