Business Growth Fund (BGF), the UK-based growth equity fund backed by the country’s five major financial services firms, is set to launch a new £200m ($308m) fund that will support technology startups.
BGF was founded in 2011 with a government mandate to invest in UK-based businesses with a turnover between £5m and £100m, taking minority stakes. It has up to £2.5bn of capital from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered with which to invest.
The new fund will operate out of a London office and will be run by Rory Stirling, partner at venture capital fund MMC Ventures, Harry Briggs, principal at VC firm Balderton Capital, and Simon Calver, who was at one time the CEO of DVD rental service LoveFilm.
Stephen Welton, chief executive of Business Growth Fund, said: “Harry, Simon and Rory bring a strong mix of venture and entrepreneurial experience, with ambitions to unearth some of the most exciting UK technology companies of tomorrow.
“With BGF’s extensive support network and £200m behind them, they have the financial firepower to quickly establish themselves as a major new ventures business.”
News of the fund came two weeks after BGF revealed that it had made more than £500m of investments since its launch. The new fund is set to begin operations in September 2015.