British Business Investments today announces it has agreed to commit up to €20 million to Bootstrap Europe III, a female-led venture debt fund targeted at fast-growing technology and impact businesses. This commitment is the continuation of British Business Investments’ support for Bootstrap, following its earlier commitment of €30 million to the successful previous vintage, Bootstrap Europe II.

British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, aims to increase the supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses across the UK by boosting the lending capacity of a range of finance providers. Since it was established in 2014, British Business Investments has committed more than £3.0bn to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses.

Bootstrap Europe III strongly supports fast-growing technology and ESG companies through its venture debt investments, in sectors including cybersecurity, smart energy, deep tech, foodtech and digital health. While Bootstrap Europe III invests across Europe, a sizable portion of the fund will be invested in the UK.

British Business Investments will be investing in Bootstrap Europe III alongside other large institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) which investments was enabled by the support of the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF). The investment into the fund follows British Business Investments’ cornerstone investment in Bootstrap Europe II in 2019.

Stephanie Heller, Managing Partner at Bootstrap Europe said: “The Bootstrap team, Fatou Diagne and I, are proud to continue a fruitful relationship with British Business Investments. The team at British Business Investments played an extremely important role in the success of our funds because British Business Investments was our first significant institutional investor in Bootstrap II. Thanks to this continued commitment, we are able to support more fast growing technology companies in Europe and particularly in the UK. It enables us to contribute to bridging a widening gap for growth-stage startups.”

Judith Hartley, CEO, British Business Investments, said: “British Business Investments is committed to ensuring smaller businesses can access a diverse range of finance options. By supporting venture debt funds like Bootstrap Europe III, we can help companies across the UK to unlock rapid growth without reducing control of their business.”