Venture capital access expanded for early-stage companies in UK

• As many as 10 new venture capital funds to be launched across the UK expanding access to venture capital beyond London
• Economic Secretary to the Treasury visited Sheffield and Leeds to meet businesses, lenders and investors supporting regional growth

Investors in early-stage companies across the UK can access a multi-million-pound investment boost as the Chancellor backs growth in every postcode through the next £100m phase of the British Business Bank’s Investor Pathways Capital Initiative.

• Erken aşama girişimlere 100 milyon sterlinlik yeni yatırım desteği sağlanacak

Supporting talented, first-time venture capital investment fund managers from a wide range of backgrounds, the initiative, which will invest £400m in total, helps businesses scale up as the fund managers provide the catalytic early capital that innovative, early-stage businesses need to scale up drive local growth and create more good British jobs.

Business large and small have felt the squeeze as the cost of business has risen. The Chancellor is backing investment outside of London into businesses to help tackle this, bolstering efforts to make Britain better off.

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey MP said:

One of my priorities as Chancellor is wealth creation. That means building an economy that helps people live well. I know there is a cost of business and it will not go unnoticed.

This must involve stepping up our support for the businesses who invest in people, and this £100m boost will help provide the fuel to drive new life into local economies up and down the country.

In June, the British Business Bank committed up to £90m to 10 new microfunds as part of the first Investor Pathways Capital cohort. Applications for the next cohort, which is part of this £100m deployment, will open in Autumn 2026.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said:

We want growth in every postcode and businesses are integral to that as the absolute backbone of our economy.

Unlocking investment and capital for British businesses, backing firms with practical support and ensuring businesses wherever they are can get the finance they need to grow, innovate and create jobs.

Separately, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury yesterday met with businesses, lenders and investors from across Yorkshire in Sheffield and Leeds. They discussed how government will support the British Business Bank and industry to work together to ensure the most ambitious of British firms can access the finance they need to invest, create jobs and drive growth in every postcode.

The visits came as the Government continues to deliver on commitments made at Mansion House to strengthen the UK’s business finance ecosystem. This approach is centred on ensuring growth reaches every part of the country – ensuring firms have the finance and support they need a at every stage of their growth journey – from start-up through to scale-up.

Recent reforms to the Growth Guarantee Scheme will increase lending capacity by a further £2 billion per year by 2028/29, helping an additional 12,000 smaller businesses access finance each year while extending loan terms and broadening eligibility. These changes are designed to ensure more businesses can secure the funding they need to invest, expand and create jobs.

The British Business Bank is playing a central role in helping deliver this ambition, supporting businesses throughout their growth journey through debt finance, venture capital and targeted investment programmes. Recent activity has included investments supporting innovative technology businesses, new venture capital funds and underserved communities across the UK’s Nations and regions.