The British Business Bank has unveiled several initiatives that signal growing momentum in channeling domestic capital toward high-potential British businesses. These moves, announced in late March and early April 2026, underscore the organization’s role in bridging funding gaps for venture capital, fintech scale-ups, and deep-science startups while mobilising pension savings into productive UK investments.
In a significant breakthrough for institutional participation in early-stage finance, the British Growth Partnership Fund I secured an initial close of £200 million.
Commitments came from three major defined-contribution pension schemes—Aegon UK, NatWest Cushon Master Trust, and M&G—alongside the Bank itself.
This marks the first venture capital allocation for both Aegon UK and Cushon, facilitated through innovative structures including a partnership with Mobius.
The fund adopts a direct-investment approach, co-investing alongside the Bank’s extensive network of over 150 managers to back promising growth companies on fully commercial terms.
Its debut deployment includes an £8 million stake in Wayve, the pioneering autonomous-driving technology firm, supplementing an earlier £25 million Bank commitment.
By dismantling longstanding barriers such as regulatory complexity and limited access, the vehicle paves the way for pension funds to tap the UK’s vibrant venture ecosystem more effectively.
Complementary efforts include the launch of Venture Link, an online platform offering pension schemes direct visibility into open venture opportunities.
Simultaneously, the Bank committed $20 million to London-based fintech innovator 9fin as part of a $170 million Series C round led by HarbourVest, with additional backing from Canada Pension Plan Investments and existing investors including Redalpine.
The deal propelled 9fin to unicorn status, bringing the Bank’s equity portfolio support to 27 UK unicorns—representing 64 percent of the current total. Founded in 2016, 9fin has built an AI-powered intelligence platform tailored for credit and debt-market professionals.
It aggregates real-time data, analytics, news, and document extraction to streamline analysis of leveraged finance, private credit, and distressed debt—markets long hampered by fragmented information trapped in silos.
With multiple years of 100 percent annual recurring revenue growth and adoption by more than 300 global banks, asset managers, and advisory firms, the fresh capital will accelerate AI enhancements, proprietary dataset expansion, and further penetration into the US market.
Further bolstering science-led entrepreneurship, the Bank extended an additional £10 million commitment to Empirical Ventures via its Regional Angels Programme, lifting total backing to £15 million.
The specialist deeptech fund targets “venture scientists”—PhD-level founders who translate frontier research into commercial breakthroughs in fields ranging from quantum computing and advanced materials to biotech and climate technologies.
Operating at pre-seed and seed stages across the UK, Empirical emphasises patient capital and sector-agnostic support to help technical founders outside London overcome investor unfamiliarity with complex science.
The partnership aligns closely with national industrial priorities, de-risking high-potential innovations and fostering regional high-skilled jobs.
Collectively, these announcements illustrate the Bank’s multifaceted strategy: unlocking pension capital at scale, directly backing category-defining scale-ups, and nurturing deeptech talent.
As CEO Louis Taylor noted, such steps are essential to connect Britain’s substantial savings pools with various innovators, ensuring the UK maximizes its position as the third-largest global venture market. With continued product development and investor engagement planned, the initiatives aim for more sustained momentum for homegrown technology and scientific advancement.
