British Growth Partnership

Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc said: “It is critically important for the growth of the UK economy that home grown companies are able to access the investment they need to grow, scale and stay in the UK.  

“Access to meaningful UK capital at the scaling phase has been a long-recognised challenge and so we are delighted that British Growth Partnership is being established to help address this problem. This will also facilitate more investment by UK pension schemes into scaling UK companies, providing greater returns for their savers and giving UK investors a greater stake in the UK economy.”

Sir Nicholas Lyons, Group Chair, Phoenix said: "The UK needs scale and skills to convert our brilliant science and technology start-ups and university spinouts into the successful and sustainable companies of tomorrow.  British Growth Partnership will complement the private sector DC pension industry's undertakings under the Mansion House Compact to expedite this, directing investment to deliver the best returns for our pension savers."

Professor Sir John Bell, President, Ellison Institute of Technology said: “Making sure the best innovative British companies can access the capital they need to scale and stay in the UK is critical for the future of the economy. The Chancellor’s announcement today of the new British Growth Partnership, in addition to confirming £7.9bn of permanent capital for the British Business Bank, are both very welcome and significant steps forward in solving this problem”

Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, Non-Executive Chair, GSK said: “This is a welcome step; encouraging institutional investment into the UK’s high-growth-potential companies can provide a real boost to the economy and generate better returns for individuals’ pension investments”

Brent Hoberman, Chairman and Co-Founder, Founders Forum Group, Founders Factory, firstminute capital said: “It's great to see the new government taking concrete steps to amplify the Mansion House reforms.   This new British Growth Partnership should help UK startups access further scale up capital to create more world leaders.”

Saul Klein, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Phoenix Court and Member of the Council for Science and Technology said: "The UK has more than 750 venture backed companies generating more than $25m in revenue - this is more than France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands combined. These companies have created over 200,000 new jobs and continue to grow but the UK still has $35bn less scale up capital to support these companies than the United States’ Bay Area alone.  

“The government’s continued support for the British Business Bank and its focus on addressing this scale up opportunity will be very much welcomed by these 750 companies as well as the cohorts coming behind them."

Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, Schroders plc said: “These are further helpful initiatives in creating an environment where risk capital can flow into strategically important industries. Every step is welcome in supporting future economic growth."

Edward Braham, Chairman, M&G said: “We welcome the creation of the British Growth Partnership which should unlock much needed investment into the UK’s high growth innovative businesses.  

“The combination of private and public sector partnerships, underpinned by long term patient capital, is essential to create the conditions for sustainable growth.  

“As a leading international investor, M&G has a proud history of supporting the progress of businesses and communities across the UK, investing in new innovative companies and private assets such as housing, hospitals and transport.”

Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the BioIndustry Association, said: "Our world-leading, innovative life sciences and biotech sector is a unique competitive advantage for economic growth. The sector attracts expert global investors but a lack of investment from UK-based institutional investors means the economic and social returns are too often lost overseas. The British Growth Partnership will help turbo-charge innovative businesses with fresh UK-based capital, enabling them to scale in the UK and deliver more returns to the British economy, and to ordinary people saving for their retirement. This is a win-win-win for UK life science businesses, for UK pension savers and for the forward-thinking financial services sector."  

Michael Moore, Chief Executive, BVCA said: “It is extremely welcome that the Government and the British Business Bank have brought this hugely significant programme forwards so quickly.

“The prize is to get significant new capital into the growth equity and venture capital funds that are creating new industries and backing innovative businesses that will be the backbone of the British economy of tomorrow. The British Business Bank has a vital role catalysing institutional investment into fast growing British businesses and this announcement will boost that work substantially. 
  
“Just 3% of the pensions investment into UK led growth equity and venture capital funds is from UK pension funds. Alongside the Government’s pensions review this major new vehicle can be the start of a major shift that sees UK pensions savers get the improved retirement income that can come from backing funds which deliver active ownership and long-term investment in business.”

Kate Bingham, Managing Partner, SV Health and Former Chair VTV welcomed the announcements saying: “The UK has the potential to be a global leader and hub for healthcare breakthroughs with its strong entrepreneurial and academic base, together with our expertise and innovation in data science and artificial intelligence. Making the British Business Bank independent of government as well as launching the British Growth Partnership enables the Bank to catalyse institutional investment, including from pension funds, into brilliant UK companies that are supercharging the development of revolutionary medical treatments including smarter medicines for cancer, Alzheimer’s and blindness.

Kerry Baldwin, Co-Founder, Managing Partner, IQ Capital said: The launch of the British Growth Partnership and the confirmation of a permanent capital allocation for the British Business Bank are two crucial steps forward in solving the lack of access to domestic capital for the UK’s most promising growth companies.  

“I very much welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today, she has been hugely engaged with the venture capital and technology sector, and champions the incredible societal impact that our sector enables through investments into innovative technologies across the UK.  

“The British Business Bank has been at the heart of powering the next generation of UK venture and growth funds and the launch of the new fund is welcome as part of the pension reforms.  This fund will enable access to world-leading science and innovative investments which increase productivity by transforming legacy industries through the adoption of novel technologies and also by providing growth capital to the next generation of globally leading frontier technologies which are solving pressing critical global issues from climate change to energy transition.”  

Dr Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and member of BVCA Council said: “Since its formation in 2018, British Patient Capital has played a central role in the growth of the UK’s knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystem.  It has built a world leading team and investment platform with a strong track record of investing in UK deeptech and life sciences companies and the venture capital funds that support these companies.  

“The British Growth Partnership will make the Bank’s extensive expertise available to a broader range of institutional investors, providing attractive returns for those investors and increasing the capital available for leading UK start-up and scale-up businesses.”

Duncan Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Gritstone said: “We at Northern Gritstone believe that skilled partnerships that channel patient investment into long-term growth and innovation are more important than ever for the UK.  

“By establishing the British Growth Partnership, the British Business Bank is creating a pathway for pension funds and institutional investors to support the future today. Through investment we can create and scale the world class businesses of tomorrow in the UK which is the platform for growth for our economy over the decades to come.”

Suranga Chandratillake, General Partner, Balderton Capital said: "The UK is a great place to start a business - we have access to incredible talent, technology and no shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs. Today's announcement of the British Growth Partnership will make the conditions here even better, providing a new source of capital for founders who are building companies that may one day be global leaders."  

Irene Graham OBE, CEO, ScaleUp Institute said: “The ScaleUp Institute has long evidenced the important role of development banks and Sovereign Wealth Funds to global scaleup economies.  The Government’s  placement of the British Business Bank commercial initiatives into permanency, with greater  flexibility, alongside the creation of the great British Growth Partnership are very much welcome and represent significant milestones for the UK economy."