Funding & Investment

Seed rounds, Series A, government grants, and the UK's venture capital landscape.

• Evertrue Capital Launches $17m Pre-Seed Fund Backed by the British Business Bank (Funding & Investment, 5 November 2026)
  Former Phoenix Court partner Yvonne Bajela has closed Evertrue Capital's $17m debut fund, announced on 3 November 2026, to back at least 20 UK and European AI and fintech startups at pre-seed with cheques of around £350,000. The British Business Bank is one of its backers.
• British Business Bank Capacity Rises to £30.6bn, With £450m for a New Venture Debt Product for Scale-Ups (Funding & Investment, 1 November 2026)
  Budget 2026 raises the British Business Bank's total financial capacity by a fifth to £30.6 billion, including £1.4 billion more to invest in equity funds and £450 million for a new venture debt product for scale-ups.
• SME Bank Borrowing Grows 5.3% a Year as Loan Rates Ease to 6.55%: Bank of England September 2026 Figures (Funding & Investment, 31 October 2026)
  Bank of England figures published on 29 October 2026 show bank borrowing by small and medium-sized businesses grew 5.3% in the year to September 2026, up from 4.7%, while the average rate on new SME loans fell to 6.55%.
• Founders' Relief Explained: 10% Capital Gains Tax on Up to £10m, and BADR Limit Halved to £500,000 from April 2027 (Funding & Investment, 29 October 2026)
  The Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 created Founders' Relief, a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains for founders of high-growth companies, while the Business Asset Disposal Relief limit falls from £1 million to £500,000 from 6 April 2027.
• UK VC Firms Raise a Record $6.9bn in Q3 2026 as Startups Take $6.1bn (Funding & Investment, 13 October 2026)
  UK venture capital firms raised $6.9 billion across 31 new funds in Q3 2026, the strongest quarter on record, while UK startups and scaleups raised $6.1 billion, according to HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom.
• The UK Seed Funding Squeeze: What the 2026 Equity Tracker Shows Founders (Funding & Investment, 5 August 2026)
  UK smaller businesses raised £12.3 billion of equity in 2025, but seed deal numbers fell 27% and the ten largest rounds took 23% of the money. Here is where the finance gap really is and how founders can respond.
• UK Startup Funding in 2026: Start Up Loans, Innovate UK Competitions and Grants You Can Check Today (Funding & Investment, 30 July 2026)
  Start Up Loans offer £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% for businesses trading less than 60 months. Innovate UK Smart Grants remain paused, so founders need to look for specific live competitions instead.
• British Business Bank Supported £9.4bn of Finance for Smaller Businesses in 2025/26 (Funding & Investment, 27 July 2026)
  The British Business Bank supported £9.4 billion of finance for smaller businesses in 2025/26 and reached 38,000 firms, 87% of the newly supported outside London. It made a pre-tax profit of £426 million.