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British Business Investments commits €27m to Bootstrap Europe II

British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has committed €27 million to Bootstrap Europe II.

Bootstrap Europe II invests venture debt with a focus on high growth technology companies, with the objective to be a stable source of capital for the next generation of innovators. The fund aims to provide successful entrepreneurs and their investors with less dilutive funding to help them grow quickly, and scale without giving up significant equity stakes in their business.

The Bootstrap Europe II team has supported entrepreneurs and their investors in more than 230 transactions. The fund includes some of the Britain’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Businesses[1] in sectors such as smart cities, IoT, circular economy, material sciences, power electronics and cutting edge B2B software technology.

The Bootstrap Europe II team has identified that in the UK and Europe, there is a significant funding gap for scale-up companies which, having reached sufficient maturity, prefer alternative funding, alongside equity.

Stephanie Heller, Managing Partner at Bootstrap Europe said: “We are delighted to have British Business Investments as a long-term partner. In US venture capital, for every $10 raised in equity, $1.5 is invested in non-dilutive financing. It is time to bridge the financing gap in Europe and to support entrepreneurs in a meaningful way.”

Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Business Investments, said: “Our role is to increase the overall supply and variation of finance in terms of both product and provider, on offer to UK businesses. Venture debt is an important funding option for innovative businesses that want to scale rapidly, without relinquishing control. Bootstrap’s investment strategy is therefore well aligned with British Business Investments objectives.”

[1] Syndicate Room Top 100 Britain’s Fastest-Growing Businesses 2018

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For more information:

Contact Bootstrap Europe: info@bootstrap-europe.com

Sophie Reece
Marketing & Communications Manager
07920 205010
Sophie.Reece@british-business-bank.co.uk

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 website.

The funding from British Business Investments into Bootstrap Europe II does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Business Investments, the British Business Bank PLC, or the government of the UK.

About Bootstrap Europe II

Bootstrap Europe II is a growth debt fund investing in technology and life sciences across the UK and Europe. The fund was set up by Ms Stephanie Galantine Heller and Ms Fatou Diagne who have worked together for 18 years, and complemented by Mr Humphrey Nokes, a pioneer of Growth Debt in Europe.

Contact Bootstrap Europe: info@bootstrap-europe.com

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