British Business Investments announces a commitment of up to €120m to LGT Capital Partners funds

09 July 2020: British Business Investments Ltd, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, announces today the third commitment through its £500m Managed Funds Programme.

The commitment to LGT Capital Partners, split across two funds, is the largest to date from the Managed Funds programme, which acts as a cornerstone investor into large scale venture and growth capital funds of funds.

The material commitment will support LGT Capital Partners’ first investment vehicles dedicated solely to venture and growth capital in Europe.

By taking a cornerstone position, capital from British Business Investments can help attract significant, additional volumes of private institutional investment into funds which in turn invest in venture and growth capital opportunities.

This approach also serves to diversify the venture and growth capital investor base, providing fund managers with more fundraising options. It enables institutional investors to access the asset class via an established manager such as LGT Capital Partners, with the skills and experience to build a diversified portfolio. Ultimately this will increase the amount of funding available to innovative, high growth companies across the UK and Europe, enabling them to scale-up and compete globally.

The investments from the funds will focus on early and late stage opportunities in the information technology and healthcare sectors. With an investment strategy that includes a significant proportion of co-investments, additional capital will be available for some of the most promising later-stage companies.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Business Investments, said: “LGT Capital Partners is a global institution that invests over the long-term. With its strong private markets heritage and a well-established venture and growth capital investment capability, these new funds are well aligned with the strategic aims of the Managed Funds Programme.

By supporting LGT Capital Partners’ first funds dedicated solely to European venture and growth, we will not only enable venture fund managers to access new, and deep pools of institutional capital, but also send a strong signal to other global institutions that this asset class, in the UK and Europe, can provide compelling returns. This new commitment will support later-stage innovative businesses across the UK with the capital they need scale-up and compete on the global stage”.

Ivan Vercoutere, Managing Partner at LGT Capital Partners, said: “Our investors, alongside LGT Capital Partners, have benefited from our extensive network and 20 year investment history in the European venture capital ecosystem. While the UK remains a leading destination for innovation and venture capital, Europe has emerged as an integrated venture capital ecosystem consistently producing globally leading technology companies. With the support of the BBI, we look forward to further expand our commitment and support of European innovation and growth.”

Launched in 2018, the Managed Funds Programme forms part of the Government’s response to the Patient Capital Review and, alongside British Patient Capital, is designed to address the patient capital funding gap in the UK. By targeting a commercial rate of return, the long-term aim of the Programme is to demonstrate the attractiveness of longer-term, later-stage venture and growth capital investments for institutional investors.  Access to these sources of patient capital will allow ambitious companies to reach their full potential and help ensure that the UK remains as the best place to start-up and scale a business.

ENDS

For more information:

British Business Investments

Suzanna Jebbitt

Communications Manager

0207 898 5829 / 07827 552 301

suzanna.jebbitt@british-business-bank.co.uk

The British Business Investments team at MHP Communications

Phone: 020 3128 8589

Email: bbb@mhpc.comLink opens in a new window

About LGT Capital Partners

LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative investment specialist with USD 60 billion in assets under management and more than 550 institutional clients in 39 countries. An international team of over 500 professionals is responsible for managing a wide range of investment programs focusing on private markets, liquid alternatives and multi-asset class solutions. Headquartered in Pfaeffikon (SZ), Switzerland, the firm has offices in New York, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vaduz, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney.

About British Business Investments

British Business Investments is the trading name of British Business Investments Ltd, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. It forms part of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm.

British Business Investments aims to earn a commercial return by investing – through finance providers – in smaller businesses and small mid-caps, pursuing investments on a fully commercial basis without receiving any economic advantage from the government. Find out more at bbinv.co.uk.

British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. Neither British Business Bank nor its principal operating subsidiaries are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc websiteLink opens in a new window.

The funding from British Business Investments to LGT does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Business Investments, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.