Cardiff Capital Region is set to get a new British Business Bank champion to connect investors with businesses.
The move was announced as part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, and is one of ten new cluster champions who will work in regions across the UK with Innovate UK.
The British Business Bank said individuals with deep expertise and local knowledge will help strengthen financial networks and connect high-potential firms in the eight Industrial Strategy sectors – advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services.
The UK Government said the champions would “connect investors with businesses and kickstart growth”.
The British Business Bank is committing £2.6 billion of capital to help drive the growth of smaller businesses across the UK’s nations and regions.
Measures include additional targeted £100 million investment into the existing Nations and Regions Investment Funds, and two new funds for the East and South East of England.
The British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme will be expanded, as will diverse angel networks through new Angel Syndicate Support and Embracing Diversity programmes.
A new Investor Pathway Capital programme will support diverse and emerging fund managers and make it easier for new entrants, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to break into the venture capital space.
Other small business finance initiatives will be announced next month as part of the UK Government’s Small Business Strategy.
Meanwhile a new £4 billion initiative, British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital, will be invested through the bank’s existing capabilities across the eight growth-driving sectors, crowding in another c.£12 billion of private capital. British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital will therefore deliver around £16.0 billion of capital to invest in smaller businesses and innovation across the eight Industrial Strategy sectors over the next four years.
As part of the Spending Review settlement, the British Business Bank will also be committing £2.6 billion of capital to support entrepreneurs wherever and whoever they are to access capital, driving the growth of smaller businesses across the UK’s Nations and regions, including high-growth innovation clusters across the country.
This follows the recent announcement at the Spending Review of the increase in the British Business Bank's total financial capacity to £25.6 billion, which will enable a two-thirds increase in investments to around £2.5 billion each year. This investment is expected to crowd in tens of billions of pounds of additional private capital and will support the most innovative UK businesses to access the capital they need to start, scale and stay in the UK.
Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said:
“We welcome today’s announcement by the Secretary of State to deliver British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital, as well as the reforms to the bank’s governance and financial framework. Using our market expertise and reach, we have a critical role to play in supporting smaller businesses in the eight growth-driving sectors to grow and stay in the UK.
“To deliver the Government’s growth mission it is also critical that our most promising entrepreneurs can access the finance they need to grow their businesses, no matter what their background or where they are located across the nations and regions of the UK.
“This is a strong endorsement of the bank’s 10-year track record, market access and capabilities, including our position as the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds and the most active late-stage investor in UK life sciences and deeptech.”
