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British Business Bank commits up to £30m to THENA Capital’s inaugural UK MedTech Fund

Press release 21 March 2025

The British Business Bank today announces it has made a cornerstone commitment of up to £30m to THENA Capital’s inaugural UK MedTech Fund through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme. The fund has held its first close at £27m with commitments from Firebird Collective, This Day Foundation, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, and other individuals from private equity and pharma companies. The fund will back early stage UK medical technology startups developing digital healthcare solutions and fast-track medical devices.

Founded in 2021 by three experts on a mission to accelerate the development of life-changing UK companies, THENA Capital views the UK MedTech sector as a hotbed of innovation and talent with opportunity.

The all-female three-partner team behind THENA Capital brings expertise from across the healthcare spectrum in the UK, Europe and the US. In addition to providing capital, they will work closely with founders to commercialise innovations and scale products from the UK into other key markets, including the US. The fund will back companies aimed at improving the patient experience that fall within care delivery, patient support or innovative medical product verticals. THENA Capital also applies a gender-smart investing strategy, ensuring capital is used to drive gender equality in the healthcare market.

The British Business Bank is the largest domestic investor in UK venture and growth capital. The Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for first-time fund managers and supporting the progression of emerging managers as they seek to establish their market presence. The programme has backed 48 funds, representing nearly £2.4bn of finance and helps those fund managers specifically targeting early-stage businesses with long-term growth potential.

Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds, British Business Bank, said:

This commitment to THENA Capital supports our strategic objective to back innovation as they back startups developing digital healthcare solutions and fast-track medical devices. Supporting early-stage businesses with growth potential sits at the core of our investment strategy.

As one of the founding signatories of the Investing in Women Code, we are delighted to partner with an all-female investment team who also signed the Code. Supporting the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the UK is key for the British Business Bank, not only because it is the right thing to do but also because it is good for business, leading to better performance and better returns.

Mark Sims, Senior Director, Funds, British Business Bank, said: 

The UK MedTech industry is large and rapidly growing, though equity gaps remain for early-stage companies. Regulatory complexities, commercialisation challenges, and a lack of investor specialisation contribute to this equity gap, particularly at seed stage. By committing to THENA Capital’s inaugural MedTech fund, we are helping to narrow this equity gap whilst backing high growth companies working to improve the patient experience.

Dr. Pamela Walker Geddes, Esther Reynal de Saint-Michel and Tatum Getty, Co-Foundering General Partners, THENA Capital:

We are thrilled to join forces with the British Business Bank, whose strategic vision and cornerstone commitment empower us to lead as a specialised fund and accelerate growth across the MedTech landscape. This partnership strengthens our ability to drive impactful change, disrupt the status quo, and transform the future of healthcare.

The General Partners of THENA Capital, Dr Pamela Walker Geddes, Esther Reynal de St-Michel and Tatum Getty, and the British Business Bank have all signed the Investing in Women Code, committing to support the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to finance in the venture capital sector. The Bank has supported a range of mixed gender teams through the Enterprise Capital Funds programme since inception, THENA Capital represents the programme’s first all-female General Partner led fund.

Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £17.4bn 1  of finance to almost 64,000 2  smaller businesses.

As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.

The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4bn in finance to 1.67m businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group and details of each subsidiary and the programme(s) it operates (where applicable) can be found www.british-business-bank.co.uk.

About THENA Capital

www.thenacapital.com

THENA Capital is a London-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage medical technology with a gender-smart investment strategy. Founded by three healthcare industry veterans, THENA aims to accelerate the development of life changing companies in the UK to achieve global reach. Fund I focusses on backing digital businesses and fast track medical devices across key opportunity areas in chronic conditions, oncology, cardiovascular, mental health, and care service delivery, with a quarter of the fund earmarked for women’s health.

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