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Deepbridge secures £15m commitment from British Business Investments

Press release 27 May 2021

  • Funds will be deployed alongside Deepbridge’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) funds and angel syndicate

  • Commitment through the Regional Angels Programme will support early-stage businesses across regions in the UK

Deepbridge Capital, the UK venture capital investment manager, today announces that it has secured a £15m commitment from British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, to fund early-stage businesses across the UK.

This £15m commitment from British Business Investments’ Regional Angels Programme, which is designed to reduce regional imbalances in access to early stage equity finance for smaller businesses across the UK, will be invested alongside Deepbridge’s own funding over the next three years.

It will match funds raised via Deepbridge’s private investors, including the Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS and the Deepbridge Life Sciences EIS. Deepbridge’s EIS funds enable private investors to access a portfolio of early-stage companies within the UK’s vibrant technology and life sciences sectors and support a portfolio of knowledge intensive businesses, across all regions of the UK. Deepbridge recently announced that it has seen a record year of EIS fundraising, with £29.4 million deployed across 37 growth companies.

By using its specialist knowledge, expertise and understanding of where, how and why investee companies operate, Deepbridge is able to better support, mentor and manage those businesses from seed stage, through commercialisation and growth funding. Some of the 37 innovative technology and life sciences companies that have benefited from Deepbridge’s EIS funding during 2020/21 include: high-purity Omega 3 oils producer AlgaeCytes, blockchain specialists Chainvine, drug-discovery company Elasmogen, cross-border e-commerce software company Hurricane Modular Commerce, vital signs monitoring specialists Metix, dysphagia management technology developer Viscgo, virtual and augmented reality software developers vTime and cancer diagnostic innovators Zilico.

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 early stage investors such as Deepbridge. With this £15m commitment from British Business Investments, Deepbridge will be able to increase its support for early-stage businesses across all regions of the UK, so they can flourish and grow.

- Judith Hartley CEO, British Business Investments

Supporting high-growth businesses across all regions of the UK is at the heart of the Regional Angels Programme’s mandate, and we are delighted to be working with British Business Investments and thank them for their support. Innovative technology and life sciences companies will be fundamental to the UK’s economic recovery and BBI’s commitment to support our drive to identify, support and grow such companies is great news for our investee companies, investors and the wider UK economy.

2020/21 represented a record year of fundraising for Deepbridge, which we believe not only shows considerable appetite for early-stage private equity amongst investors, but is also a continuing endorsement of our hands-on management style to supporting EIS-qualifying companies.

- Ian Warwick Managing Partner at Deepbridge Capital

For more information, please contact:

Notes to editors

About Deepbridge Capital

Deepbridge Capital aims to redefine the growth capital market by providing private investors with access to opportunities which are sourced, reviewed and managed by its team of sector specialists. Supporting energetic, passionate and knowledgeable management teams, Deepbridge seeks to identify highly innovative companies to grow into highly successful companies, with a view to providing optimal returns to investors. As investment specialists in the technology, life sciences and renewable energy sectors, Deepbridge works with investee companies throughout their funding journey with an eye always on producing a suitable exit for investors. For further information, please visit deepbridgecapital.com.

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. Neither British Business Bank nor its principal operating subsidiaries are 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 Deepbridge Capital does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Business Investments, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.

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