BGF
UK growth-capital investor backing small and medium-sized businesses across sectors.
BGF joined the board of Cambridge biotech Trimtech Therapeutics on 23 June 2026, adding $14m alongside Johnson & Johnson Innovation as the company's seed round grew to £35.6m, extending its remit into early-stage deep biotech.
Last refreshed: 31 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for BGF
Invested in TidalSense's round
UK Startups and Innovation: TidalSense takes £14.2m with no leadAdded $14m to Trimtech's seed round and took a board seat
UK Startups and Innovation: J&J backs Trimtech seed to GBP35.6mBackground
BGF was established in 2011 as the Business Growth Fund by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered in the wake of the financial crisis, and is now the UK and Ireland's most active growth-capital investor. It takes minority equity stakes typically of £3m to £30m across sectors from a network of 15 offices.
In 2025 BGF committed to invest more than £3bn in UK businesses over five years, including £300m earmarked for female-led firms, a scale of commitment that positions it as a standing source of growth capital independent of any single funding cycle.
BGF joined a biotech's board
BGF joined the board of Trimtech Therapeutics, a Cambridge biotech, adding $14m alongside Johnson & Johnson Innovation as the company's seed round grew to £35.6m on 23 June 2026 . Trimtech's protein-degrader platform now has both a growth-capital investor and a major pharmaceutical partner watching from the boardroom.
The deal extends BGF's reach from its traditional growth-capital, mid-market REMIT into early-stage deep biotech, sitting alongside a large pharmaceutical corporate investor rather than the specialist life-Science venture funds that usually lead such rounds.
