The new Apposite fund will target high-growth life sciences companies, as the Bank ramps efforts to crowd in private capital and deepen late-stage funding
The British Business Bank has agreed to make a £100 million commitment to Apposite Healthcare Growth I, a fund investing to support the growth of health technology companies, primarily in the UK.
This will be the British Business Bank’s largest fund commitment to date and is the Bank’s first commitment to Apposite Capital, a specialist healthcare and life sciences investor.
Apposite Healthcare Growth I will invest in innovative companies across medical products, diagnostics, life sciences tools, digital health, and pharmaceutical outsourcing services.
The fund aims to address the shortage of scale-up capital for UK life sciences companies approaching a growth inflection, which aligns with the Bank’s strategy to create deeper pools of scale up funding.
The fund will invest in UK companies developing market-leading technologies and services to improve patient outcomes and access to healthcare, while enabling them to compete globally and create highly skilled jobs.
The British Business Bank is the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds and regularly makes cornerstone commitments to funds that are aligned with its strategy. By acting as a cornerstone investor, the Bank enables a fund to achieve a first, supporting their launch and enabling them to execute their strategy at greater scale.
The British Business Bank is targeting over 60 per cent of its venture and growth investment flow towards scale-ups and aims to support the launch of 10 new-to-market growth-stage funds over the next five years, and will write larger cheques to leading fund managers.
Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Equity Funds, British Business Bank, said,
“The UK needs growth stage funding, and the Bank is stepping up to deliver this. To help funds launch and ensure they have the size and firepower needed, we are writing larger cheques and signalling these commitments to institutional investors, with the intention it mobilises the private sector.”
According to Sam Gray, Managing Partner at Apposite Capital:
“Apposite Healthcare Growth I will back the next generation of UK healthcare technology leaders. The UK is home to an extraordinary depth of scientific research, entrepreneurial talent, and innovative companies, yet many businesses face a persistent gap in scale-up funding.
This fund will bridge that gap, enabling high-potential companies to accelerate their growth, commercialise transformative technologies, improve health outcomes and support economic growth.”
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