In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves announced a new National Wealth Fund with an objective to invest in “new and growing industries.” The fund is also expected to “catalyse private sector investment.” It has been reported this new fund will be funded with £7.3 billion. At the same time, the Labour government has said it will not raise National Insurance and the “basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.”
The Chancellor provided few other details, noting that the next steps will soon be announced.
Louis Taylor, CEO of the British Business Bank, issued a statement welcoming the new Fund, which he believes will unlock growth in the UK. Taylor said the Bank will become “aligned” under the new Fund.
“This announcement is a strong endorsement of the British Business Bank’s 10-year track record, broad skills and capabilities including our position as the UK’s largest domestic investor in venture and venture growth capital and the most active late-stage investor in UK life sciences and deeptech. We expect the National Wealth Fund to create a single coherent governmental offer for businesses and a compelling proposition for investors that will help mobilise billions more in private investment in line with a lot of our recent work, enabling us to catalyse external institutional capital, including pension fund investment, into UK high potential companies, by leveraging the British Business Bank’s scale, networks, and track record.”
It was not immediately clear if the British Business Bank would play a role in managing the Fund.
