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British Business Investments commits up to €20 million to Bootstrap Europe III

Press release 24 March 2022

British Business Investments today announces it has agreed to commit up to €20 million to Bootstrap Europe III, a female-led venture debt fund targeted at fast-growing technology and impact businesses. This commitment is the continuation of British Business Investments’ support for Bootstrap, following its earlier commitment of €30 million to the successful previous vintage, Bootstrap Europe II.

British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, aims to increase the supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses across the UK by boosting the lending capacity of a range of finance providers. Since it was established in 2014, British Business Investments has committed more than £3 billion to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses.

Bootstrap Europe III strongly supports fast-growing technology and ESG companies through its venture debt investments, in sectors including cybersecurity, smart energy, deep tech, foodtech and digital health. While Bootstrap Europe III invests across Europe, a sizable portion of the fund will be invested in the UK.

British Business Investments will be investing in Bootstrap Europe III alongside other large institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) which investments was enabled by the support of the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF). The investment into the fund follows British Business Investments’ cornerstone investment in Bootstrap Europe II in 2019.

The Bootstrap team, Fatou Diagne and I, are proud to continue a fruitful relationship with British Business Investments. The team at British Business Investments played an extremely important role in the success of our funds because British Business Investments was our first significant institutional investor in Bootstrap II. Thanks to this continued commitment, we are able to support more fast growing technology companies in Europe and particularly in the UK. It enables us to contribute to bridging a widening gap for growth-stage startups. Stephanie Heller Managing Partner, Bootstrap Europe
British Business Investments is committed to ensuring smaller businesses can access a diverse range of finance options. By supporting venture debt funds like Bootstrap Europe III, we can help companies across the UK to unlock rapid growth without reducing control of their business. Judith Hartley CEO, British Business Investments

Further Information

Notes to editors

About British Business Investments

British Business Investments is the trading name of British Business Investments Ltd, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. It forms part of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm.

British Business Investments aims to earn a commercial return by investing – through finance providers – in smaller businesses and small mid-caps, pursuing investments on a fully commercial basis without receiving any economic advantage from the government. Find out more at bbinv.co.uk.

British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such.  They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.

The funding from British Business Investments to Bootstrap Europe does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Business Investments, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.

About Bootstrap Europe

Bootstrap Europe was founded by Stephanie Heller and Fatou Diagne in 2015 and is headquartered in Luxembourg with offices in Zurich and London. Bootstrap operates through fund structures backed by limited partners, including the European Investment Fund, the British Business Investments, well-known technology entrepreneurs, family offices, asset managers and financial institutions. Now at its third fund, the team at Bootstrap has invested in more than +260 Growth Debt transactions in European & UK fast-growing companies, with a focus on technology and life sciences sectors.

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