British Business Bank launches £210m South East Investment Fund

The British Business Bank has launched a new £210m South East Investment Fund to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses across the region.

The fund will provide a range of commercial finance options, including loans of between £25,000 and £2m and equity investments of up to £5m, targeting businesses looking to start, scale and invest in growth.

It will cover Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surrey and Kent, with a particular focus on supporting innovation, job creation and longer-term economic growth.

The launch, alongside the forthcoming East of England Investment Fund later this month, means the British Business Bank will be delivering targeted regional finance across every UK nation and region outside London.

The South East Investment Fund has already completed its first transaction, providing a £250,000 loan to Basingstoke-based technology company Process Vision. The funding will support the company’s next phase of commercial growth and international expansion.

The Bank highlighted the South East’s strong innovation base as one of the drivers behind the new fund. The region accounts for 17% of UK university spinout businesses, second only to London, but received 5% of the UK’s total equity investment by value last year.

The fund is intended to help bridge this gap and support the commercialisation and growth of innovative businesses emerging from the region.

David Hourican, incoming Interim Chief Executive Officer of the British Business Bank, said: “Today’s launch of the South East England Investment Fund will help to stimulate economic growth throughout the region.

“The South East of England is home to some of the UK’s most innovative technological and scientific businesses and this fund will ensure that businesses have local access to the finance they need to grow, scale and expand.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said improving access to investment would help smaller businesses pursue ambitions ranging from recruitment and new premises to international expansion.

“Small businesses are the bedrock of our economy and a vital part of any high street, whether it’s a tech startup in Surrey or a creative agency in Margate,” he said.

“We are determined not to let access to investment be a barrier to success for businesses in the South East.”

The British Business Bank has appointed The FSE Group and Maven Capital Partners to manage the fund. The FSE Group will be responsible for its debt finance provision, while Maven Capital Partners will manage equity investments.

The launch comes alongside the British Business Bank’s plans to commit up to £150m to a new Northern scale-up fund, which will provide investments of between £5m and £15m to high-growth businesses across the North of England, further extending the Bank’s regional investment activity.