British Business Bank South West Investment Fund
BBB regional fund deploying capital in the South West of England through external fund managers.
The British Business Bank said on 27 July 2026 that its South West Investment Fund had deployed £157m into 283 businesses since its July 2023 launch, roughly half matched by private co-investors.
Last refreshed: 31 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How do British Business Bank regional funds fill the VC gap outside London?
Timeline for British Business Bank South West Investment Fund
Passed £157m deployed across 283 businesses
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The British Business Bank South West Investment Fund is a regional sub-fund of the British Business Bank, the UK Government's economic development bank. It deploys equity and debt capital into small and medium-sized enterprises based in the South West of England, a region that has historically received proportionally less venture capital than London and the South East. The fund operates through fund managers appointed by the British Business Bank, with Maven Capital Partners its current equity deployment partner .
The fund invests at seed and Series A stage, typically writing tickets of £100,000 to £2m alongside private co-investors, and requires co-investment from private sources as a condition of its participation, so every cheque it writes is matched by private money . Its role in the UK capital ecosystem is to crowd in private capital to regions where commercial VCs perceive insufficient deal flow, rather than to compete with them.
Fund's deployment tops £157m across 283 firms
The British Business Bank said on 27 July that its South West Investment Fund has now put £157m into 283 businesses since launching in July 2023, with roughly half the money coming straight from the Bank and half from private co-investors . That structure spreads small cheques widely rather than betting big on any single company.
The fund's mandate to crowd in private capital where commercial VCs see thin deal flow was visible in April, when its deployment partner Maven Capital Partners led £4.4m into Third Space Learning's Skye maths tutor alongside Blackfinch Ventures, Foresight Group and Nesta . No Venture Capital Trust money featured on that cap table, evidence of the fund filling a gap Left by 2026's VCT relief cut.
