BGF breaks through £400m investment barrier

BGF – the UK and Ireland’s most active investor – has now pumped £411 million into 50 businesses across the Midlands, with £57 million of that total being invested in the past 12 months.

With offices in Birmingham, Nottingham and Milton Keynes, BGF made several investments in the UK’s growing life sciences sector in 2019, including at Nottingham-based business incubator BioCity.

BGF also provided follow-on investment to nine existing portfolio businesses, including corporate travel management company Click Travel.

In October, the company successfully exited its investment in landscaping and grounds maintenance company TCL Group, as the business was acquired by idverde to create the UK’s largest provider of outdoor green services.

Gurinder Sunner, head of BGF’s Midlands team, said: “2019 was a strong year for BGF, with new investments, follow-on into portfolio companies and some successful exits. Our portfolio is growing and experiencing growth despite wider economic uncertainty – there’s a strong appetite from entrepreneurs to get on with building their businesses and grow.

“We’re expecting 2020 to be a year of much more acceleration – with a General Election behind us, businesses are ready to move forward and we are ready to provide the funding and support to help them scale up and realise their potential.”