South West Investment Fund marks £100m investment milestone
The British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund has driven almost £100m of investment into new and growing businesses across the region.
Launched in 2023, the £200m fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses across the whole of the South West, offering loans from £25,000 up to equity investment of £5m.
The South West Investment Fund has so far delivered £51.8m of direct investment, leveraging an additional £48.1m from the private sector via 218 deals, with 203 businesses across the region receiving funding.
The Fund’s latest deal includes a £1.275m investment in Eden Conveyancing, an award winning, fully digital conveyancing platform, via fund manager Maven Capital Partners.
Mark Sterritt, senior director, at the British Business Bank, said: “Hitting the £100m milestone is a great achievement for the South West Investment Fund and demonstrates the scale of impact it is having in the region. With more than 200 businesses already supported, the Fund is backing innovation and ambition across a wide range of sectors. This includes businesses like Eden Conveyancing, allowing the business to scale and expand its services.”
Bath-based Eden Conveyancing offers a fully digital conveyancing platform that aims to transform the residential property transaction process by blending expert legal insight with cutting-edge technology. Its MyEden platform centralises key elements of the transaction including documents, financials, and communications into one secure hub.
This integrated approach enables faster, more transparent transactions, with real-time financial tracking and clearly defined, upfront fees. While the technology automates much of the process, each client is also assigned a named expert property lawyer who guides the client and manages their case from instruction to completion.
The investment will allow the business to further scale its sales and marketing resource and create new jobs, while continuing to expand its service and develop the platform. Funding will also support the growth of its partnership model with estate agents and mortgage brokers, including the launch of a new remortgaging service to build longer-term customer engagement.
Since 2020, the conveyancing industry has undergone a major transformation, driven by accelerating digital adoption across key institutions such as HM Land Registry, the Bank of England, and leading industry bodies. Eden’s fully digital model is well positioned to capitalise on this evolution, offering a modern solution aligned with the industry’s future.
Melanie Goward, partner at Maven, said; “Eden have built a scalable and agile system with built-in automation, while its proprietary legal technology analyses property titles and
streamlines conveyancing, making the process faster, more cost-effective, and client friendly. With the UK’s residential conveyancing market valued at £3.66 billion, Eden is well positioned to scale. We’re delighted to support Bruce and the team at this point in the company’s journey and look forward to working with them to achieve their growth objectives.”
Bruce Griffin, CEO of Eden Conveyancing said; “We’re really excited to be partnering with Maven and the British Business Bank to accelerate our growth plans. The investment will allow us to further develop our market-leading digital conveyancing platform and provide a new type of conveyancing service to even more homeowners. Maven’s experience coupled with our expanded Senior Leadership Team will enable us to build a business that impacts the future of conveyancing.”
The South West Investment Fund operates across the whole of the South West region including Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. There are four appointed fund managers through which applications can be made, depending upon location.
The South West Investment Fund is among a suite of Nations and Regions Investment Funds launched by the British Business Bank across the UK. The British Business Bank is the UK’s government-backed development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses.