British Business Investments commits €40 mn to Claret Fund III

By Megha Bhattacharya

British Business Investments (BBI), a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has committed €40 million to the first close of Harbert/Claret European Growth Capital Fund III, with other investors including the European Investment Fund. The fund will provide growth debt to early-stage technology-focused smaller businesses in the UK and Europe. Claret Capital Partners is led by David Bateman and Johan Kampe. Its fund’s investment advisory team is based in London and targets high growth businesses.

BBI aims to increase the supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses by boosting the lending capacity of challenger banks and non-bank lenders.

Judith Hartley, CEO, BBI, said, “British Business Investments’ objective is to ensure smaller businesses can access as diverse a range of finance options as possible, to help them grow and succeed. This additional €40m commitment to Claret Capital Partners’ new fund supports this objective. For early-stage, high growth businesses, venture debt can be the key to unlocking rapid growth without reducing control of their business.”

Recently, British Business Investments announced a £30 million commitment to support UK small businesses through Funding Circle’s UK SME Direct Lending Fund.

David Bateman, Managing Partner, Claret Capital Partners, said, “We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with BBI and look forward to supporting growth businesses in all parts of the UK and Europe.”