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British Business Investments commits up to £100m to Hermes GPE in second cornerstone commitment through its Managed Funds Programme

Press release 17 December 2019

British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has made its second cornerstone commitment this year through its £500m Managed Funds Programme.

The £100m commitment is being made to the Hermes GPE Innovation Fund which is seeking to raise a target of £250m. Investments are expected to be focused on later-stage opportunities in technology-enabled businesses across the UK and Europe with a productivity, people or sustainability theme.

The Managed Funds Programme seeks to draw in more institutional capital to the UK venture and growth capital markets and increase access to longer-term capital for ambitious and innovative high potential companies. It expects to generate a commercial rate of return from a diversified portfolio of fund and company investments, which will be selected and managed by experienced alternative asset managers.

Hermes GPE is a long-term investor with a strong UK heritage and well-established growth capital investment capability. This commitment from our Managed Funds Programme will provide a steady stream of capital to innovative businesses across the UK looking to scale-up. ​​​​​​​Catherine Lewis La Torre CEO of British Business Investments

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. 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.

British Business Investments has an existing relationship with Hermes GPE through the UK Innovation Investment Fund, which includes a previous investment into the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund, a 2010 vintage vehicle.

Further Information

Notes to editors

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

About Hermes GPE

Hermes GPE is a UK-based private equity asset manager with 27-year track record focusing on fund investments and co-investments in buyouts and growth businesses across the globe. The firm manages $6bn of assets via managed accounts, pooled funds and side cars, working in partnership with a wide range of Limited Partners (LPs) and General Partners (GPs) from offices in London, New York and Singapore.