Syndicate Room gets £10m backing from British Business Bank’s investment arm

Funding will be deployed alongside Syndicate Room's Access fund.

British Business Investments, part of the British Business Bank, has pledged to invest £10m in small businesses and startups alongside Syndicate Room’s Access fund.

Access is an early-stage co-investment fund which tracks 1,000 of the UK’s best performing angel investors and lets regular investors spread their risk across deals while also taking advantage of Enterprise Investment Scheme tax relief.

“We use a unique data-driven approach to investing and have developed groundbreaking analytics to map the UK startup equity market,” said Francesca O’Brien, head of investments at Syndicate Room.

“Our strategy uses data and diversification and aims to build consistent returns by investing alongside angels with a proven track record. 

The British Business Bank has long used alternative finance platforms like Funding Circle, MarketFinance and Assetz Capital to achieve its goals, but this marks the first time Syndicate Room has received such funding.

The £10m commitment from British Business Investments will be deployed over five years and across a minimum of 250 investments as part of the bank’s Regional Angels Programme which seeks to address regional imbalances in angel finance.

“Our Regional Angels Programme is designed to increase the amount of capital available to smaller businesses with high growth potential,” said Judith Hartley, CEO of British Business Investments.

“With this £10m commitment from British Business Investments, Syndicate Room will be able to increase its support for startups and early stage businesses of all sizes, so they can flourish and grow.”