Future fund holds equity stake in another 75 high-growth firms
The government’s future fund has taken an equity stake in 75 additional high-growth companies, according to data from the British Business Bank.
As of 31 March, the future fund holds shares in 335 businesses in total, which have successfully raised further private sector capital through an equity funding round since the last update for 2021.
Launched on 20 May 2020, and open for applications until 31 January 2021, the future fund issued 1,190 companies with convertible loan agreements worth £1.14bn in total.
The future fund was established to support UK-based innovative businesses affected by the Covid crisis, offering loans ranging from £125,000 to £5m.
These loans were provided on the condition that third-party investors at least match the government’s commitment, and these convertible loans were designed to be converted into equity at the next equity funding round.
Several peer-to-peer lending platforms have used the future fund’s convertible loan agreements, including Assetz Capital, CapitalRise, FutureBricks, Crowd2Fund and Propio.
The government has an equity stake in JustUs, which also participated in the scheme.
As Peer2Peer Finance News previously reported, the state development bank became a minority shareholder in the platform in December, in a transaction which valued JustUs at £50m.
Read more: £375m future fund successor scheme opens to applications
“The future fund was created to increase the flow of capital to companies at the height of the pandemic, while ensuring long-term value for the UK taxpayer,” said Ken Cooper, managing director, venture solutions at the British Business Bank said:
“We’re delighted to see this flow of companies going on to raise further private sector capital. As a shareholder in these businesses, the future fund is well positioned to share in the benefits of their continued growth.”