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British Business Bank Investments Ltd invests in Atlantic Bridge III, a new €140 million fund for Technology companies

British Business Bank Investments Limited, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, today announces that its Venture Capital Catalyst Fund has invested €13m (£10m) in the first close of Atlantic Bridge III, a new €140m Fund for technology companies with global market scalability.

Atlantic Bridge III will invest in up to 20 companies and will focus on scaling businesses in the UK, Ireland and across Europe in high growth enterprise technology sectors including cloud, big data, augmented and virtual reality software, robotics and internet of things. The investment from British Business Bank Investments will help Atlantic Bridge scale up its existing operations in the UK as it seeks to continue to invest in the UK’s high growth tech sector.

Other participants in the new Fund include existing Atlantic Bridge investors, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Enterprise Ireland and the European Investment Fund, along with other new institutional investors and pension funds.

Atlantic Bridge is one of the largest European technology funds, with offices in Dublin, London, Silicon Valley, Beijing and Hong Kong. The latest Fund brings the total assets under management of Atlantic Bridge to €400m.

Atlantic Bridge, using its international platform and ‘Bridge Model’, has scaled a range of European companies into the US and Chinese markets – the key markets for technology companies. Atlantic Bridge currently has over 20 companies in its funds’ portfolio, and has realized investments across 12 firms with proceeds totaling over €1.7bn.

Keith Morgan, Chairman of British Business Bank Investment Ltd said, “Atlantic Bridge’s new fund will allow it to significantly enhance its footprint in the fast-growth UK technology sector. We have been impressed by the team who between them have extensive operational experience and real passion for the sector. We are really pleased to back the new fund and look forward to working together as they increase their exposure to the vibrant UK technology sector.”

Kevin Dillon, Managing Partner of Atlantic Bridge, London, said, “We are delighted to launch Atlantic Bridge III. We already have a number of pipeline investments identified for the Fund and are confident that this will build on the track record of success of our previous Funds. As a growth equity stage Fund, Atlantic Bridge III will focus on taking companies with a solid and exciting business model to the next level, scaling them into key international markets like the US and China.”

ENDS

For more information:

Atlantic Bridge

Kevin Dillon, kevin@abven.com

Eugene Hogan, Bridge PR eugene.hogan@bridgepr.ie +353 87 2497290

British Business Bank

Scott Shearer, Scott.Shearer@british-business-bank.co.uk

Nick Taylor, Seven Hills, Nick.Taylor@wearesevenhills.com; Tel: +44 20 7199 6185

About Atlantic Bridge

Atlantic Bridge Capital is a Global Technology Fund with over €400 million of assets under management across four Funds, investing in technology companies in Europe. We have offices and staff based in London, Dublin, Silicon Valley, Beijing & Hong Kong.

The Fund is focused on investing primarily at the expansion capital and growth equity stages in companies that have started to scale in revenues with a proven business model with evidence of market uptake and customer adoption. Atlantic Bridge has developed a unique and differentiated strategy which focuses on specific technology themes and the implementation of the “Atlantic Bridge Model” for scaling companies internationally. The “Bridge Model” accelerates the scale up of technology companies in the US and Chinese markets. This approach is highly differentiated and has delivered strong performance results to date. The team has a thirty year operating history working together in technology as entrepreneurs and investors with over $7 billion in exits, having raised four successful technology funds.

About British Business Bank Investments Limited

British Business Bank Investments Limited is the commercial arm of the British Business Bank. It aims to earn a commercial return by investing through providers of finance to smaller businesses and small mid-caps, pursuing investments on a fully commercial basis without receiving any advantage from the government.

British Business Bank Investments Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. Neither entity is authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.

The Business Finance Guide, jointly published by the British Business Bank and the ICAEW, is a unique guide that sets out the full range of options available for smaller businesses looking to raise finance and offers advice to help companies plan for growth.