Hambro Perks Announces First Close of new Venture Debt Fund

Press release 02 November 2022

Industry veteran David Hayers leads team of experienced venture debt specialists for new Pan-European fund The new Fund provides non-dilutive venture and growth debt to dynamic and fast-growing technology and IP-rich companies Hambro Perks, a UK investment firm, has today announced the first close of the £100 million Hambro Perks Growth Debt Fund. The investment team is made up of an experienced team of industry professionals with a long track record in European venture debt, led by sector expert David Hayers.

The new Fund will support UK and European high growth scale-up companies with non-dilutive growth capital, with a focus on B2B SaaS and patented hardware companies.

A number of high-profile investors have committed capital to the fund, with British Business Investments and Phoenix PLC acting as co-anchors to the fund, and Foresters Friendly Society also joining the first close. Additional commitments have come from family offices and high net worth individuals.

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.

The launch of the Fund comes after several years of strong growth by Hambro Perks, which has seen the raising and deployment of several new funds, including Hambro Perks Leaders fund, a pan-European Venture Capital fund, Access Fund II and Access Fund III, the second and third vintages of the firm’s innovative Venture Secondaries strategy, and Hambro Perks Environmental Technology Fund, which invests in emerging environmental technologies.

Following a period of strong and sustained growth by Hambro Perks, establishing a new venture debt franchise and launching our first fund is the obvious next step for the firm. Feedback from our investors and entrepreneurs alike is that venture debt is an underserved market within the UK and Europe, so we believe the new fund will hugely benefit the UK start-up ecosystem. We are grateful for the show of support from our investors and look forward to updating the market on the fund’s progress in due course. Dominic Perks Co-founder and Chief Executive, Hambro Perks

I am excited to establish the new venture debt team at Hambro Perks. The firm is known for its innovative and pioneering work to support entrepreneurs and founders and I am delighted that myself and the team are a part of that. The growing market presents a strong opportunity for investors, especially in the current venture landscape. The new Fund will enable management teams and existing investors to accelerate growth without needing to commit more capital or introduce new investors. The fund is also a good hedge against inflation and the more cautious equity investment environment. David Hayers Head of Hambro Perks Growth Debt

Our commitment to Hambro Perks Growth Debt Fund will facilitate additional growth capital to scale-up technology and manufacturing businesses. British Business Investments’ mission is to increase the diversity and supply of finance for smaller businesses in the UK, and venture debt funds like Hambro Perks Growth Debt Fund, can help businesses across the UK to achieve growth without reducing control of their business. Judith Hartley CEO, British Business Investments

The Hambro Perks Growth Debt Fund present us with the opportunity to back some of the most exciting and fast-growing UK companies, via an experienced team. We are pleased to be able to support the venture debt strategy, and give our policy holders access to the asset class, while also supporting the growth of businesses in the UK and Europe. James Mitchell Head of Strategic Partnerships and Market Research, Phoenix Group

We are delighted to participate in the launch of the Hambro Perks Growth Debt Fund. This investment will establish Foresters’ presence in some of the most vibrant sectors of the UK economy and will sit alongside a wide spectrum of innovative investment strategies that we have deployed in support of our members’ own financial plans and to the benefit of the wider community. Corrado Pistarino Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Friendly Society

David and the team join Hambro Perks from Virgin Money, where David led the bank’s successful venture debt team for over eight years and oversaw more than sixty debt investments by the team into high growth scale-up companies, establishing them as one of the most prolific venture debt investors in the UK.

Further Information

Catherine Armstrong +44 7398 003302 [email protected]

FTI Consulting [email protected]

Notes to editors

About Hambro Perks

Hambro Perks is a London-headquartered international investment firm focussed on technology investing. We partner with founders and entrepreneurs to support growth businesses at all stages of the investment cycle.

Hambro Perks has specialised and dedicated investment teams, working across a number of funds. In addition to their flagship Venture, EIS and co-investment funds, Hambro Perks offers a number of specialist differentiated investment strategies, including Hambro Perks Environmental Technology, Special Situations, and Access, which invests in venture secondaries.

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 Hambro Perks does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Business Investments, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.

About Phoenix Group

Phoenix is the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, with c. £310 billion of assets under administration and c.13 million customers, and over 240 years of experience.

We are a growing and sustainable business with a clear purpose – helping people secure a life of possibilities. This means taking responsible and sustainable investment decisions, and using our presence and voice to advocate on behalf of the UK’s savers. We understand that our scale and expertise means that we have an important role to play for our customers, colleagues and our communities.

As life expectancy continues to increase and the pension landscape continues to shift, we will continue to be a safe and dependable ally in the journey to and through retirement for millions of customers, by providing the right guidance and products, at the right time, to support the right choices. We offer a broad range of products for people across all stages of the savings life cycle.

Our strategy focuses on delivering long term, sustainable value and, to fulfil our purpose, focuses on five key areas to ensure we respond to changing customer needs, manage our capital position well, create value, inspire our people, and put sustainability at the heart of our business.

Phoenix is a FTSE 100 company and we feature in the FTSE100 ESG Select Index series. We are playing an active role in helping to build back better and greener as we invest for the future. In 2020 we committed to our operations being net zero carbon by 2025 and our investment portfolios by 2050. In 2021 we set an interim target of a 50% reduction in the carbon emission intensity of c £250 billion of investments by 2030.

We are a Living Wage Employer and recognised as a Carer Positive Exemplary Employer for offering the best support to colleagues who are carers.

LinkedIn: PhoenixGroup-UK
Twitter: PhoenixGroupUK

About Foresters Friendly Society

Founded in 1834, Foresters Friendly Society is a mutual organisation offering a range of financial savings, investment and insurance products, as well as a range of discretionary financial grants which can help towards covering the cost of things like higher education, healthcare costs and convalescence assistance. As a Friendly Society, it’s particularly important to us that our investments are managed in an ethical and responsible way. Foresters is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) which demonstrates our commitment to responsible investment, to reducing our impact on the environment and mitigating climate change risk in our investment portfolios.

forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk

Foresters Friendly Society is on:

Twitter: ForestersFriend
Facebook: forestersfriendly
LinkedIn: Foresters Friendly Society