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British Business Investments Extends its Commitment to SFC Capital to £25 Million to Invest in Regional Startups

12 February 2025

  • Further £10m commitment comes as the UK’s most active seed-stage investor surpasses 500 portfolio companies

SFC Capital (“SFC”), the UK’s most active seed-stage investor, has received an additional £10 million commitment from British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, through its Regional Angels Programme, which is designed to reduce regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance across the UK.

SFC expects this new commitment to fund 100 early-stage businesses across the UK, unlocking a total of £100 million in new funding for startup and scaleup businesses across all sectors. This new commitment follows previous commitments totalling £15 million initially made by the Regional Angels Programme in 2020, which SFC fully deployed across more than 150 companies.

The investments made to date by SFC under the Regional Angels Programme are showing promising performance, with early investments made in 2020-22 currently posting a total value to paid-in (TVPI) multiple of 2x. SFC has also achieved several successful exits from the commitment, including Peopleforce, an HR software business which SFC exited to a leading European HR tech investor in a deal that returned 5x the original investment.

This latest commitment comes as SFC passes a key milestone, having invested in more than 500 startups across the UK since 2012 – including notable names such as Onfido, Cognism, and Transcend Packaging. SFC’s most recent investments include 4D Biomaterials, a Nottingham-based biotech company, Neurosight, a Canterbury-based HR software company, and Careloop, a University of Manchester spinout focused on tackling severe mental illness.

Joseph Zipfel, Chief Investment Officer, SFC Capital:

We are incredibly pleased to receive this extension and grateful to British Business Investments for their continued trust. This was made possible by the strong performance of the companies that we have invested in so far under the programme, a testament to the strength of entrepreneurial talent that we have in the UK. The Regional Angels Programme is a formidable case study of how the private and public sector can collaborate to boost the startup ecosystem nationally while providing a positive return to taxpayers.

Adam Kelly, Managing Director, British Business Investments, said:

Our Regional Angels Programme is designed to address imbalances in access to early-stage finance in the UK, and to increase the overall amount of capital available to smaller businesses through angel networks. Following our earlier commitments in 2020, this further commitment of £10m will allow SFC Capital to build on its track record of supporting high growth-potential businesses across the UK.

Notes to editors

About SFC Capital

SFC Capital is the UK’s most active seed investor. SFC’s mission is to invest in the innovations of tomorrow and to support the UK’s most innovative start-ups from their very first funding round. They work with the UK’s most active accelerators, university incubators and angel investors to find high potential ventures at an early stage across sectors from Fintech and B2B Software to Life Sciences and Consumer Tech. Founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Stephen Page (DataEase, Sapphire), SFC Capital combines an angel syndicate with its own funds to provide investors with diversified exposure to SEIS- and EIS-qualifying businesses. Find out more at SFC Capital

About British Business Investments

British Business Investments Limited is a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc the UK government’s economic development bank. British Business Investments aims to improve access to alternative finance for smaller businesses across the whole of the UK, while supporting the UK’s transition to a net zero economy and generating a return for the UK taxpayer. Find out more at British Business Investments

British Business Investments Limited is registered in England and W/bbinv.co.uk/ales with company number 09091930, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Business Bank plc is owned by HM Government and is registered in England and Wales with company number 08616013, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ.

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 the group can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.

The transaction described above does not constitute or imply any endorsement, warranty or recommendation by the UK government, British Business Bank plc or its subsidiaries or any other party in respect of SFC Capital or its products or services.

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