London-based investment firm Outward VC has reached the first closing of its Fund II at £51 million. The fund has received a cornerstone investment of £30m from the British Business Bank, which is deploying capital through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme, which has a strong track record in backing emerging, UK-based Venture Capital fund managers. A wide range of private investors are also participating in the fund.

The British Design Fund (BDF) has opened its sixth fund, and first Evergreen Fund, to investors . It will seek to continue championing the very best of British innovation, invention and engineering, from the UK’s most promising product design and manufacturing start-ups.

British Business Investments has announced that it is providing a £15m facility to Performance Finance Limited. The transaction will be structured as a block discounting agreement that will allow Performance Finance to provide funding support to smaller businesses looking to acquire business-critical assets to accelerate their growth.

Scotland’s first impact investor, SIS Ventures has released its inaugural Impact Report, highlighting the positive impacts on people and planet delivered by its investee companies.

SETsquared has held its 20th investment event – an annual high-profile occasion that has showcased hundreds of the best UK technology, science and innovation-led start-ups and helped raise more than £160m.

Carbon13, the Cambridge-based venture builder for the climate emergency, is announcing their most significant round of investments to date with a total of £2.4 million being deployed.  Carbon13 is investing by way of an LP Fund, which has received the commitment of 15 institutions and individuals dedicated to supporting early-stage climate tech entrepreneurs.  

The British Business Bank has launched the £200m South West Investment Fund aimed at fostering growth and prosperity for small businesses across the South West of England.

An innovative British start-up, Collective Equity, has launched the UK’s first equity pooling fund to give liquidity to founders who have their entire wealth tied up in the businesses they create. Founders and shareholders can invest up to 10% of their equity, instead of cash, into the fund and share in the success of other high-growth, vetted companies. When one or more of the Limited Partners in the fund has a liquidity event, such as an IPO or acquisition, everyone in the fund receives a share of the proceeds. This gives founders multiple opportunities to convert their equity into cash.  

A new independent report which has been published today by Warwick Economics and Development estimates that companies supported by the SETsquared Partnership ecosystem have contributed £15.7bn to the UK economy over the last 20 years.

A collaborative new partnership between Catalyst and Techstart Ventures is offering 10 entrepreneurial teams who take part in Catalyst’s Co-Founders programme the chance to each win a £10,000 proof of concept grant. Receiving a proof of concept grant will help new start-ups validate their business offering and set them on the path to commercialisation.

Financial wellbeing platform Blackbullion has announced a £2.5m investment round to accelerate financial wellbeing for students. The new funding round will scale the platform’s growth, driving Blackbullion’s mission to simplify the complex world of finance for young people, while connecting them with scholarships and additional funds while they study

The oversubscribed round was led by Calyx Venture Fund with existing investors including Lord Stanley Fink and MPA Education, also participating; Blackbullion is the first investment for MPA’s second fund. 

Innovate UK KTN has chosen 13 startups of the future to take part in its prestigious sustainability accelerator programme. Over the next ten weeks, 13 companies selected from the Sustainable Innovation Fund will work with Innovate UK KTN and their partners Growth Studio to further develop their propositions and prepare to raise external capital.