Alert Icon

Beware of scams

We are aware of scams coming from email and social media where people try to impersonate us. We will never ask you for money or your bank details.

Learn more about what to look out for and how to protect yourself

British Patient Capital Announces $75m Commitment to $680m Balderton Capital Growth fund

Press release 10 June 2021

Commitment will provide capital to invest in potential future UK tech giants

British Patient Capital announces a $75m cornerstone commitment to Balderton Capital Growth I, as Balderton Capital announces its final close today at $680m.

Balderton is one of the most established technology investors in the UK, with over two decades of experience of backing some of the country’s most ambitious founders from a very early stage. Darktrace and The Hut Group, which have both recently listed in London, are two notable Balderton successes. This new venture growth fund, one of the largest in the UK and Europe, is able to support founders as they scale their businesses with the ambition to become global industry leaders. The fund is sector agnostic, and expects to invest between $25m and $50m per company.

The commitment follows British Patient Capital’s investments in two previous Balderton Capital funds which focussed on investing at Series A. Several companies from these funds have now reached growth stage, such as AI drug discovery specialist, Healx, self-driving software provider Wayve, eco-friendly homecare product provider smol, cybersecurity specialist, Tessian, and Zego, the UK’s first insurtech unicorn.

We are pleased to provide this $75m cornerstone commitment to Balderton’s inaugural growth fund. Balderton’s track record in identifying and backing some of the UK’s most successful innovative companies from seed and Series A means they now hold one of the largest growth stage portfolios in the UK and Europe. A venture growth fund builds on that momentum. This commitment is well aligned with our strategy to invest with fund managers that can back our most promising innovative companies through larger, later-stage funding rounds, and deliver compelling returns. We are delighted to help one of the country’s most seasoned technology investors bring a new venture growth fund to market.

Judith Hartley CEO, British Patient Capital

We see an unprecedented opportunity for growth stage investing in the UK and Europe. Multiple maturing technology ecosystems have resulted in global winners being born and scaling from Europe. We’re looking for fifteen or so really exceptional companies that have the potential to be sector leaders and disrupt global industries.

British Patient Capital is a long-standing partner in our ambitions to support the next generation of global leaders in innovation and technology. Their cornerstone investment has been instrumental in enabling us to raise our first growth fund. We are proud to have them as an LP.

Rana Yared General Partner at Balderton Capital

Notes to editors

About British Patient Capital

British Patient Capital is the trading name of British Patient Capital Limited, 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.

Its mission is to enable long-term investment in innovative firms led by ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build large scale businesses. Launched in June 2018, British Patient Capital has £2.5bn to invest over 10 years in venture and venture growth capital to support high growth potential innovative UK businesses in accessing the long-term financing they require to scale up. Find out more at britishpatientcapital.co.uk.

British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries 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.

British Patient Capital makes commitments and invests on its own behalf and on behalf of third-party investors whose investments British Patient Capital manages.

The investment from British Patient Capital into Balderton Capital Growth I, S.L.P does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Patient Capital, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.