Minister unveils enterprise fund boost on visit to city

SMALL Business Minister Margot James yesterday timed a visit to Manchester with the announcement of the establishment of the British Business Bank’s 21st Enterprise Capital Fund, to be run by Active PE.

It came during her visit to the ScaleUP Institute’s Manchester conference, backed by Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses and Innovate UK, and aimed at helping Local Enterprise Partnerships, cities and growth hubs deliver economic growth in their local areas.

James, only recently installed in Theresa May’s Government, hailed the work being carried out in the North West and across the UK to help SMEs accelerate growth.

She told TheBusinessDesk: “Our aim is to see the LEPs, local authorities and growth hubs benefiting from the academic input that is of a very high standard in cities like Manchester.

“We want LEPs to be able to support all businesses and boost growth way behond the averages.”

Herself, a former business owner, James said since taking office it had opened her eyes as to “what Government can do to help”.

She went on: “Small businesses are at the heart of our economy and the whole country benefits when they grow and create jobs for people.

“The government-owned British Business Bank is helping more than 48,000 businesses with over £3.1bn of support, much of it going to those with high-growth potential.”

Active is a major UK-based growth capital fund – a sector specialist, focusing exclusively on consumer, leisure and retail businesses – claiming deep expertise and know-how.

Current and past investments include the likes of Rapha, Soho House, LEON Restaurants, Finisterre and Evans Cycles.

The new Active ECF will focus on early-stage founder-led businesses. The British Business Bank will provide £24m of the fund’s £40m investment capacity.

Keith Morgan, British Business Bank chief executive, said: “This important new fund will enable more UK smaller businesses to get the investment and support they need to scale up successfully.

“Our Enterprise Capital Funds are a significant part of the UK’s early stage venture capital ecosystem, and the establishment of the new Active ECF brings the programme’s total investment capability to more than £730m.”

Spencer Skinner, Active PE co-founder, added: “We’re excited to partner with the British Business Bank to help more entrepreneurs build lasting consumer businesses and brands. We will continue to invest in the consumer economy with Active ECF – where we can genuinely provide insight and value – and in businesses generating exceptional consumer excitement.”

Irene Graham, chief executive of the ScaleUp Institute, said: “Getting the right mix of finance is essential‎ to scaling businesses, alongside the access to talent, markets and expertise that such capital can bring.

“The public and private sector working together can make a huge difference to the resources available to our scaling businesses enabling such businesses to grow to even greater heights. We welcome the targeting of this new fund to such growth businesses and the opportunities it brings.”

British Business Bank Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) are managed by experienced investors from a variety of backgrounds, including teams from the venture capital industry as well as serial entrepreneurs with a history of success in building early stage UK companies.

They are commercially-focused funds which bring together private and public money to make equity investments in high growth businesses.

Rowena Burns, chief executive of Manchester Science Partnerships, which hosted the three-day ScaleUp Institute course on Driving Economic Growth at its Citylabs 1.0 facility in Manchester, said: “We were delighted to welcome the minister today and her announcement of £40m for fast-growing businesses in scale-up mode is really excellent news.

“It has been an absolute privilege to work with the ScaleUp Institute this week and warmly commend their work in forging collaborations to enable business growth.

“Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our regional economy and play a crucial role in driving economic growth.

“The ScaleUp Institute approach – identifying our fastest growing businesses, and supporting them through bespoke programmes which draw upon the rich resources of our universities and growth support partners – is hugely exciting, and ideal in a city-region renowned for its commitment to collaboration and working in partnership.”