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BGF
Finance and Risk Capital
Impact for scaleups
259
Companies backed
18%
follow on investments
69%
growth stage investments
79%
outside of London
Key sectors
Since its formation in 2011, BGF has backed over 600 businesses across the UK and Ireland. The investor supports a range of growing companies—early stage, growth stage, and quoted—across every region and sector of the economy. It has invested £3.9 billion to date.
BGF makes long-term equity investments in return for a minority, non-controlling stake in the companies it backs. Initial investments are between £1 million and £20 million and can be followed by significant follow-on funding. The ScaleUp Institute’s Female Founder Index has identified BGF as one of the most active institutional investors in women-led businesses for the past five years.
In 2024, BGF continued its robust support for UK scaleups, deploying £489 million across the UK and Ireland and welcoming 47 new businesses into its expanding portfolio of 360 companies. During the same period, several portfolio companies achieved strong exits, including engineering design consultancy Hydrock, design automation firm DriveWorks, and Operam Education, delivering returns of 6x, 2.8x, and 2.5x money multiples, respectively.
BGF has 16 offices across the UK and Ireland. More than three-quarters (79%) of its investments are into companies based outside London. Its portfolio companies collectively employ over 60,000 people. Recent investments into scaleups include Tevalis, a hospitality technology provider; RSK Group, a sustainability-focused consultancy; Reactive Technologies, a grid energy analytics business; and VOSAIO Travel, a travel services company.
BGF has established a Clean Growth Advisory Board, chaired by Baroness Brown of Cambridge, to accelerate its investment activity in companies engaged in carbon reduction and the energy transition.
BGF has an internal team of approximately 180, combined with a 6,000-strong network of business leaders, sector experts, and non-executive directors called the Talent Network. Part of BGF’s model is to connect portfolio companies with members of the Talent Network, who serve as non-executive directors as well as provide ad hoc consultancy services.
The BGF model is internationalising. In 2018, Canada launched its own BGF, while Australia did the same in 2020. Both are backed by a combination of banks and major investors.
In December 2023, BGF achieved B Corp certification, further bolstering its long-standing commitment to creating a positive impact both within the organisation and across the wider economy.
