New £500m fund launched by British Business Bank

British Business Investments, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, today launches a new £500m managed funds programme designed to increase access to longer-term venture and growth capital for ambitious and innovative, high potential companies in the UK.

Announced six months ago by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget, the new managed funds programme will invest in large-scale funds of funds, run by experienced managers, to boost the amount of patient capital, or long-term capital, available to the UK’s high-growth businesses.

This programme, part of the Government’s response to recommendations set out in the Patient Capital Review, will help address the UK’s patient capital funding gap.

In the UK, institutional investors have lower allocations to the venture capital asset class compared with their counterparts in the US.

The new programme, launched today, May 15, will seek to draw in institutional capital to the UK’s venture and growth capital markets.

The programme aims to generate a commercial rate of return derived from a diversified portfolio of fund investments, selected by experienced fund of funds managers.

British Business Investments has today published the Request for Proposals for this £500m programme.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, British Business Investments chief executive, said: “British Business Investments manages the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF), an earlier generation of funds-of-funds, to produce attractive returns for the tax payer.

“Venture capital funds, backed by UKIIF, have already invested in a large number of outstanding UK businesses, such as Revolut and Purple Bricks through VC funds partners Balderton and DN Capital respectively.

“The £500m made available today under our new managed funds programme will build on this experience by attracting more institutional capital to the venture and growth asset class.

“Through this managed funds programme, prospective investors will be able to access high quality venture and growth capital funds that will be investing in the success stories of tomorrow.”