The British Business Bank committed £10 million to Fuel Ventures through its Regional Angels Programme, providing additional capital to support early-stage technology companies across the U.K.
The commitment will increase Fuel Ventures’ capacity to make new investments while also providing follow-on funding to existing portfolio companies as they continue to grow.
Fuel Ventures invests across the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, focusing on technology-driven businesses at relatively early points in their development.
The firm was founded by entrepreneur Mark Pearson following the sale of MyVoucherCode.
Since its inception, Fuel Ventures’ funds have deployed more than £280 million across more than 230 early-stage U.K. companies, building a broad portfolio across the technology ecosystem.
Portfolio companies have included Volt, ContentCal, and Capdesk.
ContentCal was acquired by Adobe for £110 million, while Capdesk was acquired by Carta for $88 million, providing examples of exits from the firm’s portfolio.
The new British Business Bank commitment is expected to give Fuel Ventures additional flexibility to back new founders while continuing to support companies already within its portfolio.
The Regional Angels Programme was launched by the British Business Bank in 2019 to improve access to early-stage equity capital across the U.K., particularly by expanding the availability of funding beyond the country’s most established venture hubs.
The initiative is designed to work alongside private investors and fund managers to increase the amount of capital available to younger companies with growth potential.
More broadly, the British Business Bank’s programs currently support approximately £23 billion of financing for nearly 64,000 smaller businesses.
The £10 million commitment to Fuel Ventures adds to those efforts by directing more institutional capital toward early-stage technology investing and supporting companies that may require additional funding as they move from initial product development toward commercial scale.
