Institutional investors join forces to ensure more of the value created by UK innovation benefits Britain

• Meaningful multi-year partnership across Phoenix Court’s platform, supporting British technology companies across every stage of their growth

• British Business Bank and NatWest join HSBC and M&G to collaborate across Phoenix Court’s platform and strategies

• Commitment follows Phoenix Court’s Solar pilot fund: 18 scale-up tech companies generating £5bn in annual revenue and 8,500+ jobs

London, 23 September, 2026: At its Britain Backing Britain event today, Phoenix Court announced long-term partnerships with the British Business Bank and NatWest, alongside continued backing from M&G and HSBC, to continue to support fast-growing British science and technology companies as they grow from seed to scale-up stage.

Phoenix Court is a multi-stage investment business home to the LocalGlobe, Latitude, Solar and Basecamp funds. Dealroom ranks Phoenix Court number one in EMEA and in the top 0.01% of investors globally for backing companies at seed stage that go on to generate more than $100m in annual revenue.

Closing Britain’s funding gap

The UK is the world’s third-largest innovation economy, behind only the US and China, but its most successful companies still raise more than 80% of their scale-up capital from overseas investors. Phoenix Court’s analysis has identified 1,800 venture-backed UK businesses generating more than £20m in annual revenue across the country, yet fewer than 1% have received backing from the major UK asset managers associated with the Mansion House initiative.

British Business Bank’s investment is part of a multi-hundred-million-pound commitment into Phoenix Court’s funds, providing the patient capital UK companies need to grow into global businesses, while giving domestic institutions and their beneficiaries greater exposure to the value created by the innovation economy.

For the first time, NatWest are also investing into Phoenix Court’s funds - LocalGlobe, Latitude and Solar - and extending their support to the UK ecosystem via their innovation bank. 

Existing investors, M&G, are building on the success of their £50m investment in Phoenix Court’s Solar pilot fund; a three-year proof of concept on scale-up capital, and strengthening their commitment to a meaningful partnership across Phoenix Court’s platform and through further investment into their strategies. 

Solar’s pilot backs 18 high-growth businesses spanning artificial intelligence, automotive, energy, financial services, advanced computing, robotics, semiconductors and travel. The portfolio includes companies such as Tide, Motorway, Monzo, Raspberry Pi and CuspAI, generating more than 8,500 high-value jobs across the country, including in Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester. Together, these companies generate £5bn in annual revenue, with 14 of the 18 companies turning more than £100m in revenue a year. 

These investments sit alongside HSBC who have committed across the funds. In addition to being an LP through HSBC Asset Management, Phoenix Court and its portfolio companies work closely with HSBC Innovation Banking to access HSBC’s domestic and international capabilities. 

By combining the scale, financial firepower and institutional capital of the British Business Bank, HSBC, M&G and NatWest, with Phoenix Court’s deep investment expertise backing founders in venture, these partnerships will keep more companies, jobs and investment returns in Britain - generating growth and value across every postcode in the UK.

Saul Klein, Co-Founder and Chair of Phoenix Court, said: “Britain has built the world’s third-largest innovation economy, but too many companies still lack the domestic capital to scale here. Our Solar pilot proved the opportunity is real: its 18 companies generate £5bn in annual revenue and have created more than 8,500 jobs in the UK alone. This meaningful partnership with British financial institutions will help us back more exceptional companies from seed to scale, keeping more of the jobs, prosperity and returns they create in Britain. Working with these British institutions we can make sure that British savers benefit from our innovation, not just nurses in Denmark, teachers in Ontario and the Singapore metro system.”

Leandros Kalisperas, Chief Investment Officer of the British Business Bank, said, “The opportunity in closing the scale up gap cannot be overstated. The UK already produces some of the best companies in the world, but increasing the flow of domestic long-term capital will be transformative – allowing companies to grow faster, keeping jobs and growth here, as opposed to trickling overseas. As well as making commitments to leading UK fund managers like Phoenix Court, the Bank is working to help institutional investors to access the attractive investment opportunities on their doorstep. It's genuinely encouraging to see the momentum building towards this.”

Alex Seddon, Head of Private Equity, M&G Investments, said: “Through M&G’s Catalyst strategy, we have seen first-hand the opportunity created by the UK’s world-class innovation ecosystem. Our partnership with Phoenix Court reflects a shared ambition to connect more institutional capital with high-growth British companies. That is good for founders, good for the economy and good for UK investors, who should be able to share more directly in the value created by British innovation.”

Paul Thwaite, CEO of NatWest Group, said:

“Too often, promising British businesses look overseas for the capital and support they need to reach the next stage. If Britain wants to compete for the industries and jobs of the future, we need to get better at backing our most promising companies with the capital, connections and confidence to scale here in the UK. 

“We want to be a long-term partner to the founders, investors and businesses building the UK's next generation of category defining companies. That means not only providing banking services, but helping bring together the capital, expertise and networks that innovative businesses need to grow. Banks can be part of the solution. Our investment in Phoenix Court’s platform is a good example of how NatWest can use its scale, capital and convening power to strengthen the UK's innovation ecosystem and help exceptional companies start, scale and stay here in the UK.”

ENDS.

About Phoenix Court

Phoenix Court is a venture capital business backing companies from pre-seed through to scale-up. Its investment strategies include LocalGlobe, which invests at pre-seed and seed stage; Latitude, which invests at early growth stage; Solar, which provides capital at the scale up stage to high-growth companies; and Basecamp, a global community of emerging managers, micro VCs and solo GPs. 

Dealroom ranks Phoenix Court number one in EMEA in the top 0.01% of investors globally for identifying at seed stage companies that go on to generate more than $100m in annual revenue. Phoenix Court Group is also ranked 13th globally for backing high-growth seed-stage companies and stands as the only non-US fund in the global top 15 by Dealroom. 

Phoenix Court Works, the Group’s Foundation, directs 80% of its grants within one mile of the Phoenix Court’s Somers Town office, one of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods.  Profits from our fund go straight into this work, supporting our mission to be a good long term neighbour and help people realise their full potential. 

https://www.phoenixcourt.vc/

About the British Business Bank 

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.  

In 2025/26^[1], the Bank supported UK smaller businesses to access £9.4bn of finance, made up of £1.3bn of public funding, £4.3bn of private capital crowded in by the Bank and £3.7bn of lending the Bank guaranteed. The funding benefited 38,000 UK businesses, including around 30,000 businesses the Bank had not previously helped to fund.  

About NatWest Venture Banking

NatWest Venture Banking combines specialist expertise in the innovation economy with the depth, scale and connectivity of NatWest Group. Through our extensive regional coverage, we support ambitious founders and investors across the UK, connecting them not only to capital, but also to the relationships, expertise and wider capabilities they need to scale. 

About NatWest

NatWest Group serves 20 million customers across retail, commercial and private banking, across the UK. We help people, families, and businesses build financial confidence and thrive - whether that’s opening a first account, buying a home, growing a business, or planning for the future. Alongside a wide range of banking services, we provide specialist sector expertise and entrepreneurial support helping our business customers turn possibilities into progress.

About M&G

M&G Investments is part of M&G plc, a savings and investments company with £387 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2026), managing money for around 4.2 million retail clients and more 

than 1,000 institutional clients worldwide. M&G plc has customers in the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, including individual savers and investors, life insurance policy holders and pension scheme members. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, M&G has a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.

About HSBC Asset Management

HSBC Asset Management should be referred to either in full or as HSBC AM to avoid confusion with any other financial services firms.

HSBC Asset Management, the investment management business of the HSBC Group, invests on behalf of HSBC’s worldwide customer base of retail and private clients, intermediaries, corporates and institutions through both segregated accounts and pooled funds. HSBC Asset Management connects HSBC’s clients with investment opportunities around the world through an international network of offices in 20 countries and territories, delivering global capabilities with local market insight. As at 30 June 2026, HSBC Asset Management managed assets totalling US$928bn (excluding HSBC Jintrust Fund Management Company Limited) on behalf of its clients.

For more information see http://www.global.assetmanagement.hsbc.com/

HSBC Asset Management is the brand name for the asset management businesses of HSBC Holdings plc.