BGF invests record £165m into London and South East firms
The UK and Ireland’s most active investment fund pumped a record £165m into London and South East businesses in last year, new figures from the firm have revealed.
BGF, established in 2011 as the Business Growth Fund, made 18 separate investments in the region including the multi-million-pound backing of energy data and analytics provider Stark and plant-based alternative meat company THIS.
The firm also led a £70 million funding round in July for Elvie, a global health and lifestyle brand that focuses on developing products for women, alongside investors including private equity giant BlackRock.
Nicol Fraser, Head of London and the South East at BGF, said: “Given the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, it’s now more important than ever that we demonstrate our commitment to backing even more founders and entrepreneurs in London and the South East.
“We are proud to have invested in a wealth of new businesses, in addition to supporting the growth of many of our existing portfolio companies.”
BGF said it had completed a record nine successful exits in the region across firms including from ATM-service provider Cennox, property services business Clearway, and digital advertiser Dianomi, all of which it said delivered a “high return on capital”.
Total investment across the UK and Ireland from BGF topped £600m for the year across 67 deals and marked a 55% increase on 2020 levels.
The growth fund’s total investment since 2011 has now passed the £3bn mark.