Future Fund: Breakthrough for Companies

Future Fund: Breakthrough is an investor-led programme, which means funding applications can only be made by a qualifying sponsor investor. The fund is designed to provide equity funding to innovative, R&D-intensive UK companies operating in breakthrough technology sectors (such as quantum computing, clean tech, and life sciences). These are sectors which typically have a longer lead time to product commercialisation.

The fund is focused where there is the greatest need for intervention to increase the investment round size.

Company eligibility criteria

• The company receiving investment should be UK based (UK incorporated) with significant UK operations (meaning at least half of its overall employment base and research employees are based in the UK).
• The company must be carrying out R&D activity in the UK by meeting all three of the following criteria:
  • R&D spending (as defined by pre-set accounting rules) will have been at least 10% of the total operational cost base on average over the last three years or at least 15% in one of the past three years.
  • The company is developing defensible intellectual property in the UK which they expect to be the company’s main revenue source.
  • The company intends that 20% or more of its employees will be carrying out research for at least three years from the date of investment, in roles that require a relevant master’s degree or higher.
• The company must have raised at least £5m of equity investment from third-party investors in previous funding rounds in the last five years prior to FF:B investment.
• The company must be raising a minimum investment round size of £20m.

This is a highly targeted programme, designed to address the equity funding gap for growth stage R&D intensive companies, it is therefore not suitable for all companies.