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British Patient Capital Response to the Future Fund: Breakthrough Early Impact Assessment

Insights 26 March 2024

A new assessment of British Patient Capital’s Future Fund: Breakthrough announced today that the programme is successfully increasing later stage capital investment into deeptech and life sciences companies – the sectors it was founded to support.

It has invested and committed £111.4m of funding into 16 companies, alongside £724m of third-party capital investment as at August 2023.

The Process Evaluation and Early Impact Assessment, undertaken by Ipsos UK, also noted that British Patient Capital had potential to be more catalytic in leading new equity funding rounds, and broadening the ecosystem of potential investments.

In response, British Patient Capital has already taken action to ensure the market is better supported to enable the growth of the UK’s R&D intensive companies.

These actions, effective immediately, include:

  1. The minimum round size for Future Fund: Breakthrough has been reduced from £30m to £20m.
  2. Sponsor investors can include vehicles such as corporate venture capital funds which have a carry or Long-Term Incentive Plan structure in place.
Growth-stage, R&D intensive UK companies require more time and capital to fuel their full growth cycle and reach their potential. British Patient Capital has taken immediate action to address elements of the programme to unlock further investment which is a testament to the level of ambition for Future Fund: Breakthrough, and the new criteria will help accelerate and increase the flow of third-party capital investment. There is more to do, but we are proud to see the tangible impact of the programme so far and remain committed to investing in the leading companies of tomorrow. - Ian Connatty Managing Director, Direct & Co-investment, British Patient Capital

Launched in 2021, the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme is targeted at addressing the later stage equity financing gap faced by innovative, R&D intensive UK based companies with cutting edge technologies.