The first partner of a £100m Regional Angels programme, to promote growth in the North of England, has been announced as British Business Investments.
The commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank has committed that £10m will be invested alongside Dow Schofield Watts Angels.
Cash will be invested into early stage regional tech businesses.
“Our Regional Angels Programme is designed to address regional imbalances in the availability of angel finance, and to increase the amount of capital available to smaller businesses with high growth potential through angel networks,” explained Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Business Investments.
“With this £10m commitment from British Business Investments, DSW Angels will be able to increase their support for such businesses in the North, where they currently operate, and to expand into new regions.”
The business angel network manages investments on behalf of 90 investors, based primarily in the North West, Yorkshire and the North East.
“The North and other regions have a growing tech community but have previously lacked the type of strong angel networks that exist in London,” added Keith Benson, Co-Founder of DSW Angels.
“With DSW Angels, we set out to fill the gap. We are very proud to be selected as British Business Investments first partner in this programme, which will supercharge our investments and significantly boost the development of entrepreneurial talent outside of London.”
The Regional Angels Programme was originally announced as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy in November 2017.
