Treasury announces new Future Fund to inject £375m into UK startups

To win a slice of the pie, companies must be looking to raise at least £30m from a VC or similar investment firm.

The Treasury has done a fine job at supporting the UK companies throughout the pandemic (not without a few hiccups though), but we are not out of the woods just yet.

Future Fund: Breakthrough is not some feel-good documentary about the highs and lows of UK SMEs throughout the pandemic, rather it is a new pot of cash to help spur on the UK’s post-pandemic recovery managed by British Patient Capital.

This latest fund is designed to help “high-growth, R&D intensive companies bring game-changing technologies to market.”

Eligible firms are able to apply for a slice of the £375m from today as the Treasury looks to accelerate the country’s economic recovery.

“Our Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme will enable innovative businesses in every corner of the UK to access the finance they need to scale up and bring their transformational technologies to market - all while creating high-skilled jobs and boosting the economy as part of our Plan for Jobs,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said.

“Above all, our investment will incentivise collaboration between our most ambitious entrepreneurs and private investors, helping to commercialise breakthrough products such as new medicines and green technologies that could change our lives for the better – all while creating high-skilled jobs that help boost the UK economy.”

To be eligible for the scheme, companies must be looking to raise at least £30m, with the Future Fund contributing a maximum of 30 per cent, meaning the minimum amount of private sector funding is £21m.

Companies must have a track record of raising funds from private investors and have raised at least £5m of equity in previous funding rounds. 

“The support we have provided over the past year is not only helping firms to survive the pandemic but also driving the growth and jobs of the future, making the UK a global innovation powerhouse,” Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added.

“The original Future Fund was a tremendous success in helping cutting-edge firms to get the fuel in the engine they need to really motor forwards, and we are building on that with the fresh Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme.”

From May last year until it closed at the end of January 2021, the original Future Fund provided more than £1bn of convertible loans to 1,190 businesses, including the likes of Snoop, Plum, Assetz Capital and Habito.