British Business Investments (BBI) has committed up to £10m to Lincolnshire-based Haatch Ventures to invest in early-stage tech startups.
BBI is a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, the government-backed UK SME investment bank.
The commitment will allow Haatch to provide investments into digital and tech businesses through its SEIS Fund.
“By investing alongside Haatch’s SEIS, EIS and follow-on funds, this commitment from British Business Investments will facilitate additional early-stage investment to smaller businesses across the UK,” said Judith Hartley, CEO of BBI.
The funding will come as part of BBI’s Regional Angels Programme, a scheme from BBI to provide a greater funding balance across different parts of the UK.
“The Regional Angels Programme plays a vital role in developing the early-stage funding eco-system across the UK regions and nations, bringing together patient capital, business experience and skills to support the growth of high-growth smaller businesses,’’ Hartley said.
BBI previously committed £5m to Cheshire’s SFC Capital, and £20m to Manchester-based TDC as part of the Regional Angels Programme.
Founded in 2013 by Fred Soneya and Scott Weavers-Wright OBE, Haatch has invested in more than 50 digital transformation companies.
In August, Haatch participated in the £2.5m funding round for Auddy, a London-based startup that provides producing, advertising, and comms podcasting solutions for businesses.
“We are thrilled to be working with British Business Investments and to have their support. Their commitment enhances our financial offering to our portfolio companies and recognises the critical impact that entrepreneurs have on our economic future,” said Soneya.
“Our clear focus on digital transformation businesses has meant that we have been able to capitalise on the adoption of digitisation faced by consumers and enterprises at a pace that has accelerated over the last few years.”
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