News

British Business Bank Investments Ltd commits €40 million in first closing for Harbert European Growth Capital Fund II.

British Business Bank Investments Ltd, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, has completed a commitment of €40m in the initial closing of Harbert European Growth Capital Fund II, as part of a first close of the fund with €140m of commitments. Other investors include the European Investment Fund (EIF) and several investors affiliated with the fund’s sponsor, Harbert Management Corporation.

This second European Growth Capital Fund will allow Harbert to expand its lending of venture debt finance to fast growing, innovative, technology-focused SMEs – particularly those backed by venture capital firms.

The funding is being provided under British Business Bank Investment Ltd’s Investment Programme, which has so far committed over £615m to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses. The programme helps to widen the choice of funding SMEs can find on the market.

Previous recipients from Harbert’s funding have included MyOptique Group Limited (acquired by Essilor), Nomad Plc (acquired by Alstom), Cloudsense Limited and LoopMe Limited.

Harbert launched its first European Growth Capital fund in 2013, with the fund’s London based investment advisory team targeting lending to high growth businesses in the UK and across Europe. The team is led by David Bateman and Johan Kampe, who have an established track record of over 15 years in growth lending. With a strong pipeline of opportunities, Harbert expect the fund to make its first investment shortly.

Harbert expects to raise additional commitments into the fund later this year.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO, British Business Bank Investments Ltd, said: “British Business Bank Investments Ltd is committed to ensuring small businesses can access as diverse a range of finance options as possible help them grow and succeed –this €40m investment from our Investment Programme underlines this commitment. For innovative smaller businesses, venture debt finance can be the key to unlocking rapid growth without losing control of their business.

“We are pleased to partner with Harbert and its second European Growth Capital Fund as it makes this important type of funding available to an increasing number of businesses.”

David Bateman, Harbert’s Senior Managing Director for European Growth Capital, commented on the BBBIL commitment: “We are delighted to welcome the British Business Bank as a partner in HEGCF II. We look forward to continuing to finance growth businesses in the UK and across the whole of Europe, as we have done for over 15 years.”

ENDS

 

Harbert

David Bateman. Harbert, dbateman@harbert.net

Johan Kampe. Harbert, jkampe@harbert.net

 

British Business Bank

Andy Johnson-Creek, MHP Communications, +44 20 3128 8589, bbb@mhpc.com

Scott Shearer, British Business Bank, Scott.Shearer@british-business-bank.co.uk

 

About Harbert European Growth Capital

Harbert European Growth Capital is sponsored by Harbert Management Corporation (“HMC”). HEGC provides flexible, long term and permanent debt capital for technology and life sciences businesses across Europe, and has the ability to support businesses with follow-on reserves and global network of commercial and investor relationships.

About Harbert Management Corporation

Harbert Management Corporation, an alternative asset management firm with approximately $4.9 billion in Regulatory Assets Under Management as of May 31, 2017, is a privately-owned firm formed in 1993 to sponsor alternative asset investment funds. HMC serves foundations and endowments, funds of funds, pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals across multiple asset classes. Investment strategies include European and U.S. real estate, seniors housing, European and U.S. growth capital, mezzanine debt, independent power and public securities. Additional information about HMC can be found at www.harbert.net.

About British Business Bank Investments Ltd

British Business Bank Investments Ltd is the commercial arm of the British Business Bank. It 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 advantage from the government. Find out more at bbbinv.co.uk.

British Business Bank Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank, registered in England and Wales, registration number 09091930, registered office at Foundry House, 3 Millsands, Sheffield, S3 8NH. Neither entity is authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK’s national economic development bank.  Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Our remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

British Business Bank programmes support more than £3.4bn of finance to more than 59,000 smaller businesses and participate in a further £5.8bn finance to small mid-cap businesses (as at end June 2017).

As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options, including asset finance, available to smaller businesses. It has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). This guide impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses – from start-ups to SMEs and growing mid-sized companies.  Take the interactive journey at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb or download/print a copy.

British Business Bank plc is a limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Foundry House, 3 Millsands, Sheffield, S3 8NH.

As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, it is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government which is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates under its own brand name through a number of subsidiaries, one of which is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

More information, including a legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries, can be found on the British Business Bank website.