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Hundreds of South West businesses express interest in the new £200m South West Investment Fund

Press release 04 August 2023

More than 350 businesses from across the South West have already expressed their interest in the new £200 million South West Investment Fund (SWIF) just weeks after its launch.

The government-backed fund, which was unveiled last month by the British Business Bank, aims to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for new and growing smaller businesses across the region.

It operates throughout the South West, encompassing Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

Since its launch in the first week of July at M-Shed in Bristol, over 350 businesses have expressed an interest in applying to the fund, and more than 300 delegates have attended a series of regional roadshows explaining what the fund is all about, and how businesses can apply via the fund’s dedicated fund managers.

SWIF offers a diverse range of commercial finance options ranging from small loans from £25,000 to equity investments of £5 million, for companies at all stages of development. It aims to fill the gaps in available finance options in the South West and empower businesses, both those located in busy hubs and in harder-to-reach locations, to unlock their potential.

The response to the launch of the South West Investment Fund has been hugely encouraging and has come from all across the region. The level of enquiries our fund managers have already received shows there is demand from growing businesses across the South West for more finance options at every business stage, and that’s exactly what the fund will provide. Louis Taylor Chief Executive of the British Business Bank
The South West Investment Fund is going to bring much needed additional capital into the region. It can change the way we do business in the South West and it can help grow a financial ecosystem that is more appropriate to the needs of the SMEs that we have in the region Christine Alison Chair of the South West Investment Group and a Governor of Plymouth University
This £200m investment fund for the South West will be hugely helpful. We speak to businesses who really don’t know where to go for help and support, so the British Business Bank, with its national heft, its website and government support, is a really important partner here in the Western Gateway area and beyond, so businesses can know where to go for support Katherine Bennett Chair of the Western Gateway

SWIF is the first in a series of six new Nations and Regions Investment Funds being launched by the British Business Bank, the government-owned business development bank. A total of £1.6 billion has been committed to the new funds to drive sustainable economic growth, which was first announced by the government in the 2021 Spending Review.

SWIF is managed by a team of four fund managers that have been appointed by the British Business Bank including SWIG Finance, FW Capital, Maven and the FSE Group.

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via the SWIF website. 

Further Information

Notes to editors

Photography shows (left to right): Louis Taylor, Chief Executive of the British Business Bank; Ben Cooper, Director of Funding and Finance, Tech South West; Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank; Christine Alison, Chair of the South West Investment Group and Governor of Plymouth University; Tim Jones, Chair of the South West Business Council; Katherine Bennett, Chair of the Western Gateway, at the recent launch of the £200m South West Investment Fund in Bristol.

Operated by the British Business Bank, the South West Investment Fund (SWIF) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. SWIF offers a range of commercial finance options, including smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m, and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers, and banks, to support the South West’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.

The funds in which the SWIF invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Bristol, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are authorized or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

About the South West Investment Fund

Operated by the British Business Bank, the South West Investment Fund (SWIF) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. SWIF will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the South West’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.

The funds in which the SWIF invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Plymouth, Torbay, Devon, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are 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 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.

  • 1

    Figures as at the end of March 2022

  • 2

    Figures as at the end of March 2022

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