British Business Bank publishes updated list of 515 companies in which the Future Fund has an equity stake
Press release
Today the British Business Bank publishes a list of 53 additional companies in which the Future Fund holds an equity stake, taking the total to 515 as at end of December 2022.
Launched on 20 May 2020, and open for applications until 31 January 2021, the Future Fund issued 1,190 companies with Convertible Loan Agreements worth £1.14 billion in total. Third-party investors were required to at least match the Future Fund’s investment.
Companies in which Future Fund is now a shareholder include Oxford Nanosystems, creating advanced coating technologies for enhanced heat transfer, Roslin Technologies, a biotech company improving protein production for cultivated meat and the transition towards more sustainable food systems, Phlo Technologies, an online pharmacy, both based in Scotland, and Magnitude Biosciences, a life sciences company in Durham.
The Future Fund supported UK companies that typically rely on equity investment to fund their growth. By creating a bridge to the next equity funding round, the Future Fund supported these companies through a period of considerable economic disruption and now the recovery.
The Future Fund was created to ensure a flow of capital, at the height of the pandemic, to companies that would otherwise have been unable to access government support schemes, while ensuring long-term value for the UK taxpayer. We are pleased to see so many of those companies now going on to raise further private sector capital, which will allow the Future Fund to benefit from their continued growth. Ken Cooper Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank
As at end of December 2022, there were 515 convertible loans that converted into equity shares and in respect of which the Future Fund continues to hold an equity interest.
Breakdown of total book
| Convertible loans |
550 |
|---|---|
| Investments where Future Fund retains an equity interest |
515 |
| Fully exited |
43 |
| Administrations and insolvencies (still in loan status) |
83 ² |
| Total |
1191³ |
Reconciliation since last quarterly update
| Previous published number of equity investments |
464 |
|---|---|
| Companies removed from list of equity investments ⁴ |
-2 |
| New Conversions |
53 |
| Total |
515 |
The scheme used a recognised financial instrument known as a convertible loan. Unlike an equity investment, there wasn’t a requirement under the convertible loan to value the company or the price of its shares, at a time when company valuations had been significantly impacted by Covid-19. Instead, the convertible loans are designed to convert into equity at the next equity funding round, converting at a discount to the price per share agreed between companies and investors in the funding round.
The British Business Bank will update the list of companies in which Future Fund has a shareholding at the end of each financial quarter.
Further information on the Future Fund is available.
On 6 July 2021 the British Business Bank published data giving a final, comprehensive picture of how the Future Fund has supported businesses during the pandemic.
¹ This includes loans converted to equity as well as equity holdings that result from an exit in which Future Fund received shares in another entity as consideration. It also includes equity investments in 12 companies in administration and insolvency.
² As noted above, there are a further 12 administrations and insolvencies in respect of companies where the Future Fund investment is in equity status
³ The number of investments increased from 1,190 to 1,191 as a result of a demerger.
⁴ Two full exits, i.e. where Future Fund no longer holds any equity
Appendix
Additional 53 companies in which the Future Fund has an equity interest as at end December 2022:
| Company | Region |
|---|---|
| Acre 1144 Limited | South East |
| Acre Platforms Limited | London |
| Apobec Discovery Ltd | West Midlands |
| Arctic Shores Limited | North West |
| Biorelate Limited | North West |
| Bmll Technologies Limited | London |
| Bricklane Technologies Ltd | London |
| Bunk App LTD. | London |
| Cambridge Oncology Ltd | East of England |
| Cellen Life Sciences Limited | London |
| Contentive Group Limited | London |
| Cospace Group Limited | East of England |
| Cred Investments Holdings Limited | London |
| Dines App Ltd | London |
| Dma Link Limited | London |
| Edgify Ai LTD. | London |
| Elemental Concept 2016 Limited | London |
| Beckley Psytech Limited | London |
| Enro Holdings Limited | London |
| Equilibrium Markets Limited | West Midlands |
| Eternum Ltd | London |
| Exerceo Training Ltd | London |
| Fosjento Holdings Ltd | London |
| Fronted Holding Ltd | London |
| Grid Smarter Cities Ltd | North East |
| Immerse Learning Limited | London |
| Intelligent Data Technologies Limited | South East |
| Iotech Systems Limited | North East |
| Lightwaverf Ltd | West Midlands |
| Magnitude Biosciences Limited | North East |
| Maistro Limited | South West |
| Mercaux, Inc. | Other |
| Methera Global Communications Limited | London |
| Onedome Ltd | London |
| Oxford Nanosystems Ltd | South East |
| Pardus Holdings Limited | London |
| Phlo Technologies Ltd | Scotland |
| Photonic Measurements Limited | Northern Ireland |
| Powervault Ltd | London |
| Proplend Ltd | London |
| Roslin Technologies Limited | Scotland |
| Sanitary OWL Ltd | London |
| Sheep Included Ltd | London |
| Shepper Limited | London |
| Solar Options For Schools Limited | East of England |
| Spinview Global Limited | London |
| Stack Content Discovery Limited | London |
| Steama Company Limited | North West |
| Sync Capital Holdings Limited | London |
| Talent Cloud Solutions Limited | London |
| The Lakes Distillery Company PLC | North East |
| Torro Ventures Ltd | London |
| Travel Assets Group Limited | South East |
Notes to editors
Future Fund
The Future Fund was established to support the UK’s innovative businesses affected by Covid-19. These businesses were unable to access other government business support programmes, such as CBILS, because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. The Future Fund closed to new applications as of June 2021. The Future Fund provided UK-based companies with convertible loans on condition that third-party investors at least match the government’s commitment. The convertible loans are designed to convert into equity at the next equity funding round. The Future Fund was developed by the government and delivered by the British Business Bank.
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £12.2 billion1 of finance to more than 96,000 smaller businesses2 .
As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.
The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4 billion in finance to 1.67 million businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.
British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at the British Business Bank.
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