A new £140m investment fund designed to support the growth of small and medium sized businesses in the East of England, including Norfolk, was launched by the British Business Bank on Wednesday 23 September at an event held at Norwich Research Park.
The launch of the East of England Investment Fund (EEIF) means the British Business Bank is now delivering targeted finance across every UK nation and region outside London.
This supports the Government’s plan for growth in every postcode by helping businesses access finance close to home. By backing ambitious smaller businesses, the fund aims to support innovation, create jobs and stimulate sustained economic growth in the region.
Covering Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the fund will provide much-needed access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses, offering loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investments of up to £5m to help businesses start, scale and grow.
The East of England is home to 15% of the UK’s university spinout businesses*1, but the region received just 9% of the UK’s total equity investment by value last year*2. The launch of the fund will help to ensure the bridge between academic innovation and market deployment is adequately supported in the region.
At the launch event, the British Business Bank identified the mismatch between the quality of businesses and science in Norwich and the funding infrastructure available to support them. Addressing that regional funding gap is a key purpose of the new fund.
The event featured a welcome from Louis Taylor CBE, CEO of the British Business Bank, an introduction to the East of England Investment Fund, insights from the Fund Managers and a panel discussion exploring growth and access to finance across the East of England that included Nick Goodwin, COO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management company for Norwich Research Park.
Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, who also spoke at the event, said, “The East of England has a strong R&D track record. But for companies to remain, grow and scale in the UK, they need specialist skills, technology platforms and entrepreneurial drive, as well as informed growth capital that is ready to invest. I believe more can be done to stimulate investment in the East of England. With the support of the British Business Bank and today’s announcement, we can strengthen the pipeline of investible opportunities and retain later-stage businesses in our region, creating jobs and supporting economic growth.”
Two of the main funders are Mercia Ventures and Beechbrook Capital.
Mercia Ventures will provide £63m equity fund. It will look to be investing from around £200,000 in start-ups through to £5m for more scale up enterprises. It expects to make around 40 investments over the five-year investment period and will actively look to co-invest alongside other investors.
Mercia confirmed it is looking across the full spectrum of businesses from start-ups to established growth businesses. Deep tech, life sciences and agri-tech sectors were specifically highlighted, alongside AI, cleantech, software, manufacturing and other growth sectors – a really good fit with Norwich Research Park’s pipeline.
Beechbrook Capital, through its subsidiary Eastmeare Financing has a £42m debt fund available for providing debt finance from £25,000 up to £2m for growth, working capital, assets, recruitment, acquisitions and expansion.
Eastern Angels, the key angel investor network in the region, is working closely with Mercia on the EEIF pipeline. This creates a real co-investment opportunity; businesses can benefit from EEIF funding alongside investment from the angel investors in the Eastern Angels community. These are experienced investors who offer far more than capital, including connections, expertise and practical advice. For Norwich Research Park companies in the Anglia Innovation Partnership incubation programme and for those moving towards a Series A raise through the BioTransitions programme, it offers a much clearer funding pathway from inception through to scale-up.
The British Business Bank stressed that making the capital available is only part of the solution. It relies heavily on regional stakeholders and intermediaries identifying, preparing and bringing forward investable businesses.
The Anglia Innovation Partnership will be actively working on strengthening the relationships with Mercia Ventures and the investor network to help to identify those companies on the Park approaching investment readiness.
Bernie Williams, Enterprise Network Manager at Anglia Innovation Partnership, said, “The launch of this fund is a significant boost for the region, but what excites me most is what we can now build around it. Bringing nearly 200 investors, funders and business support organisations together at Norwich Research Park demonstrated the strength of the regional ecosystem and put a real spotlight on the innovation and commercial opportunities emerging here.
“We have a growing pipeline of investable opportunities across the park campus, particularly in agri-tech, agrifood, health and deep tech. Our focus now is on helping those companies to grow and connecting them with the right capital, expertise and industry networks at the right point in their growth.
“We’re already seeing increased interest from investors and partners wanting to connect with and support our companies. The new fund gives us another important source of patient growth capital to bring into that ecosystem, from early-stage investment through to the larger funding rounds businesses need as they grow and scale.
“It strengthens what we are building at Norwich Research Park; not simply a place where innovative companies start, but an environment where they can access the science, facilities, talent, business support, investors and capital they need to grow and scale here in Norwich.”
David Hourican, Incoming Interim CEO of the British Business Bank, said, ‘The East of England is home to some of the UK’s most innovative and enterprising businesses, from world-leading life sciences to advanced manufacturing and agri-tech. The launch of the East of England Investment Fund will play a crucial role in stimulating growth throughout the region by ensuring its businesses have access to the finance they need and deserve’.
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.
*1 Small Business Equity Tracker 2026
*2 Small Business Finance Markets Report 2026
