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British Patient Capital – Full Year Results for the period ending 31 March 2020

Press release 02 November 2020

Fuelling innovation and powering growth; British Patient Capital’s total commitments reach over £1bn.

During the 12 months to March 2020, British Patient Capital made 11 commitments to new venture and venture growth funds, increasing our total fund investments to 42. In terms of investment amount, we committed £405m in the year to March 2020, taking our total commitments to just over £1bn. This is a clear demonstration of the scale at which we can now deploy capital, and a reflection of the market opportunity.

The number of underlying companies within our portfolio has also increased from 322 to 503 over the 12-month period. Many of these are leading edge, innovative companies operating in key sectors such as Life Sciences, AI & Big Data, Cybersecurity and Fintech, and are well positioned to support economic growth as we adapt to the impact of Covid-19.

While it is still early in the life of British Patient Capital and the funds to which we have made commitments, it is encouraging that we continue to achieve a positive return.

- Judith Hartley CEO, British Patient Capital

Key highlights:

In its second year, British Patient Capital has continued to deliver strongly against its business plan:

  • We made 11 new commitments with a total value of £405m 1 in 2019/20 financial year
  • Total value of portfolio commitments reached £1,004m across 42 funds
  • British Patient Capital is the largest domestic investor in UK venture and venture growth capital
  • Total commitments to funds, including capital from other institutional investors, now total more than £5.8bn

Achieving an attractive rate of return for the UK taxpayer 2 :

Notable commitments during the year include:

  • $50m investment in Atomico’s fifth fund, helping them to continue to support their most promising companies well into the growth stage
  • $45m in Balderton Capital’s seventh fund, supporting outstanding founders at a critical point in the start-up journey
  • $65m cornerstone investment to SV Health Investors’ first dedicated biotech fund, which aims to turn scientific breakthroughs into companies producing high impact precision medicine drugs for poorly treated diseases

BPC’s investment strategy is sector agnostic. However, the underlying companies within our portfolio fall in to one of eight themes: Future of work and education (19%), Marketplaces and consumer (18%), Digital health and life sciences (15%), Big data and AI (13%), Fintech (13%) and Clean growth, sustainability and mobility (9%), Cybersecurity (5%) and Frontier tech (5%)

Working with institutional investors to unlock additional patient capital

In April 2019, we announced our first third-party investment mandate, £250m on behalf of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF).

We look forward to working with a broader range of institutions as we continue to progress our investment strategy.

Our long-term vision is for more home-grown and fully funded, high growth companies to fulfil their potential to be players on the global stage. By increasing the availability of patient capital to our high-growth businesses, we fuel innovation, heighten ambition and power economic growth.

As we adapt to the impact of Covid-19, breakthrough innovations based on digitisation, deep technology and life sciences are set to create a wave of transformative, high-growth companies. With many world-class universities, a strong track record in science and research, and a technology sector now regularly producing global champions, the UK is well positioned to be a leader of this wave.

With £1.5bn still be to be deployed, it’s the long-term patient capital that we, and others provide, that will fuel innovation, and power economic growth.

- Russ Cummings Chair, British Patient Capital

For more information

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.

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