10th January 2020: BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing businesses, invested £93m of growth capital into companies based in London and the South East in 2019. 16 new businesses were added to the portfolio, and several existing portfolio companies received follow on funding to support further business growth. This brings BGF total in the South East region to £586m invested in 115 businesses to date, across early-stage, growth and quoted companies.
New investments this year include PredictImmune, a fast-growth developer of pioneering prognostic tools for immune-mediated diseases, direct to consumer menswear brand Spoke and Bf1systems, the market-leading provider of electronic and electrical solutions for the motorsport and automotive industries. The latter became BGF’s 300th investment since the investor was set up in 2011 to back the UK and Ireland’s fastest growing businesses.
Follow-on investment was provided to several existing portfolio businesses in 2019, including Trouva, the curated marketplace for independent retailers, to accelerate its international expansion, and pioneering airspace developer Apex Airspace, to help roll out further developments across the UK.
Successful exits in 2019 included The Good Care Group, the at-home care service provider, after it was acquired by Sodexo UK, and 3sun Group, the Norfolk-based specialist provider of products and services to the global renewable energy industry. The business was acquired by Australian-listed Worley Ltd.
The team also expanded its headcount with the appointments of Daina Spedding, Rowan Bird and Simon Blackaby as investors, as well as Grant Paul-Florence to lead the London investment team.
Grant Paul-Florence, head of BGF’s London investment team, said: “Our investments this year and our growing portfolio in and around the capital is testament to the ambition and innovation we’re seeing here every day. We continue to meet exciting, growing businesses that are finding opportunity in uncertainty and really going for growth.
London and the South East remains a global hub for innovation and knowledge across a wide range of sectors, acting as a critical gateway for the UK to the rest of the world. We’re looking forward to meeting more growing companies in 2020 and will continue to back the boldest and brightest businesses with the long-term, flexible capital that will support them to realise their potential.”
About BGF:
- BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested more than £2.1bn in over 300 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK.
- BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs.
- BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 14 offices.
- In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2019, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s funding model.
