British Business Bank commits £100m to Apposite Capital
The British Business Bank has agreed to make a £100m commitment to Apposite Healthcare Growth I, a fund investing to support the growth of health technology companies, primarily in the UK. This will be the British Business Bank’s largest fund commitment to date and is the Bank’s first commitment to Apposite Capital.
Apposite Capital is a specialist healthcare and life sciences investor. Apposite Healthcare Growth I will invest in innovative companies across medical products, diagnostics, life sciences tools, digital health, and pharmaceutical outsourcing services.
The fund aims to address the shortage of scale-up capital for UK life sciences companies approaching a growth inflection, which aligns with the Bank’s strategy to create deeper pools of scale up funding. The fund will invest in UK companies developing market leading technologies and services to improve patient outcomes and access to healthcare, while enabling them to compete globally and create highly skilled jobs.
The British Business Bank is the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds and regularly makes cornerstone commitments to funds that are aligned with its strategy. By acting as a cornerstone investor, the Bank enables a fund to achieve a first, supporting their launch and enabling them to execute their strategy at greater scale.
The British Business Bank intends to deliver a step change in its support for UK scale ups and is targeting over 60% of our venture and growth investment flow towards scale-ups. As part of this strategy, the Bank aims to support the launch of 10 new to market growth-stage funds over the next five years and will write larger cheques into leading fund managers.
Christine Hockley, managing director and head of Commercial Equity Funds, British Business Bank, said, “The UK needs growth stage funding, and the Bank is stepping up to deliver this. Working with the UK’s venture capital community, we are looking to support the creation of growth stage funds capable of writing significant cheques into the next generation of UK unicorns. To help these funds launch and ensure they have the size and firepower needed, we are writing larger cheques and signalling these commitments to institutional investors, with the intention it mobilises the private sector.”
Mark Andrews, investment director, Funds, Life Sciences, British Business Bank, said, “The need for scale up funding is especially pronounced in life sciences. However, there remains a shortage of later-stage funds, meaning that many promising life sciences companies cannot fulfil their potential in the UK and may embark on premature or sub-optimal exits. Apposite’s new fund has a clear focus on growth stage investing in life sciences and will help convert world-leading UK science into global companies.
Sam Gray, managing partner at Apposite Capital, said, “The commitment from the British Business Bank will enable Apposite to continue its strong track record of supporting ambitious growing companies and investing in businesses that can achieve better healthcare for more people. Apposite Healthcare Growth I will back the next generation of UK healthcare technology leaders. The UK is home to an extraordinary depth of scientific research, entrepreneurial talent, and innovative companies, yet many businesses face a persistent gap in scale-up funding. This fund will bridge that gap, enabling high potential companies to accelerate their growth, commercialise transformative technologies, improve health outcomes and support economic growth.”
Peter Kyle, secretary of state for Business and Trade, said: “We’ve committed to backing our most ambitious companies, ensuring the UK leads in innovation and competes globally.
“This record investment into Apposite Capital delivers on that promise by giving it the financial firepower to support the UK’s most exciting healthcare tech firms scale, develop cutting edge medical