Business & Technology
British Business Bank backs Antler UK fund with GBP £25m
KAREN JOY BACUDO
Finance Editor
British Business Bank has made a GBP £25 million cornerstone commitment to Antler’s UK Fund II, marking its first investment in the firm.
The fund will back UK founders from the earliest stage of company formation, with initial commitments of up to GBP £500,000 for new start-ups. Antler described the UK strategy as its largest single-location fund to date.
Founded in 2017, Antler invests in technology start-ups from inception and works with founders before their companies launch. In the UK, it has operated since 2020 through a residency programme for entrepreneurs at the start of the company-building process.
The new fund will be led by partners Adam French, Hannah Leach and Jed Rose. Antler may also continue backing stronger portfolio companies in later funding rounds through its later-stage investment vehicle, Elevate.
The commitment brings British Business Bank into a syndicate made up mainly of UK limited partners, including Lloyds Banking Group. The participation of domestic institutional investors is notable at a time when policymakers and investors are focused on strengthening the UK’s ability to finance young technology companies at home.
Through its fund investments, British Business Bank aims to expand access to finance for smaller businesses and deepen the UK venture capital market. Antler’s focus on company creation and earliest-stage investing aligns with that goal by helping build a larger pipeline of new, investable businesses.
Early-stage focus
Unlike many venture capital firms that invest after a business has launched and shown early traction, Antler focuses on backing founders at inception. Its model combines early funding with support to help founders develop ideas, build teams and begin operations.
That matters in a UK market where access to pre-seed finance remains uneven, particularly outside established networks. Investors and policymakers have long argued that stronger support at the very start of the founder’s journey is needed for more ideas to become companies capable of attracting later funding.
“The UK consistently produces exceptional founders and world-leading IP, and we need to give entrepreneurs the tools to take the leap and start building the companies of the future. This fund is dedicated to creating UK companies and will help turn more high-potential ideas into scalable businesses,” Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-head of Funds at British Business Bank, said.
Michael Laycock, Investment Director at British Business Bank, added, “Antler has an established model to support aspiring entrepreneurs from the very start of their journey. We are pleased to support Antler to scale and grow its UK activities. This commitment helps increase the availability of both early-stage capital and support for ambitious UK entrepreneurs as they start their founder journey.”
UK expansion
For Antler, the fund adds to a global platform active in 27 cities across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. The firm says it has backed more than 1,500 start-ups worldwide, reflecting a model built on high volumes of very early-stage investments.
The UK has become a more important part of that network since Antler entered the market in 2020. Launching its largest single-location fund in Britain suggests the firm sees a deep enough pipeline of founders to justify concentrating more capital in one geography.
“Our new fund is designed to support outlier founders in a new era when speed is everything. Most funds wait for traction, we back with conviction from inception and then create the conditions for founders to move faster than they could anywhere else. This fund is here to back the world-class founder talent in the UK. Founders can achieve more and move faster than ever before, thanks to AI. There has never been a better time to become a founder in the UK, and we have created a fund that will help exceptional founders realise their full potential,” said Adam French, Partner at Antler.
The Bank’s involvement also reflects its broader role in improving the supply of capital to smaller businesses across the UK. Its core programmes support GBP £23 billion of finance for almost 64,000 smaller businesses, according to figures it cited.
For Antler, the backing provides a high-profile domestic anchor investor as it expands in Britain’s crowded venture market. For the British Business Bank, the commitment is another attempt to direct more capital towards founders at a time when many businesses are still little more than an idea.
The company is reminding people across the Thames supply region to conserve water as spring has so far been ‘very dry’.
A spokesman for Thames Water said: “This spring has been very dry so far and it is vital that we all play our part and use water wisely through periods of dry weather.
“Our water resources are in a reasonably healthy place now, but we are constantly monitoring reservoir levels, groundwater levels, and river flows.
“We all have a role to play when it comes to saving water and we encourage everybody to play their part in conversing resources where possible.”
Thames Water supplies more than 2.6 billion litres of water each day to 10.1 million customers.
Approximately 70 per cent of that supply comes from rivers and reservoirs, with the remaining 30 per cent drawn from underground aquifers.
In April 2026, just 38 per cent of the long-term average rainfall was recorded across England, according to the Met Office.
Temperatures were also 1.1C higher than average, making it the seventh warmest April on record.
The South East was classified as a ‘seriously water stressed’ region by the Government in 2007.
Thames Water continues to monitor conditions closely and promote water efficiency to help protect against potential shortages.
An Indian restaurant in Bicester has turned its food hygiene rating around, jumping from a low zero score to a five-out-of-five ‘very good’ rating.
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The bees are now settled at Berkeley’s Highcroft development in Wallingford, where they are being cared for by Marian Vasiliu, a lifelong beekeeper and project manager.
They are part of Berkeley’s broader commitment to biodiversity at Highcroft, which includes more than 18 acres of open space, the planting of over 1,000 new trees, and features such as allotments, swales, ponds, wildflower meadows and hedgerows.
Despite the young colony arriving at Highcroft only four weeks ago, eggs and larvae have already been found inside the hive.
Mr Vasiliu said: “It means a lot to care for the hives at Highcroft because I already feel connected to the site through my work here.
“With West Point Construction, I’m helping prepare the next phase of the development for the people who will one day call it home.
“With my beekeeping, I’m creating the conditions for a new family to settle and thrive.”
Mr Vasiliu began beekeeping at age 13 in Romania when a swarm settled at his grandmother’s home in Nadifa, in the Moldavia region.
He said: “I saw them land and I begged my father to let me collect them in a large wooden box.
“Afterwards, I read as many books as I could on beekeeping and hive management, and taught myself how best to look after these amazing and important creatures.”
He now keeps 13 hives of his own in Aylesbury and describes beekeeping as a passion, not a business.
The Highcroft hives were previously managed by Yvonne Parks, who cared for them over the past three years and oversaw several honey harvests.
Ms Parks said: “It has been lovely to see the hives become part of Highcroft over the last three years, and we have enjoyed several honey harvests along the way.”
She encourages residents and visitors to plant a variety of flowering plants, especially annuals and Mediterranean herbs like lavender and thyme to support pollinators.
Stephen Kirwan, managing director at Berkeley, welcomed the new arrivals.
He said: “The arrival of a new bee family at Highcroft is a wonderful moment for the development, and Marian and Yvonne’s stories give it a real human connection.”
Berkeley is celebrating the success to mark World Bee Day, on May 20, which recognises the critical role of bees and other pollinators in maintaining biodiversity and food production.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, pollinators affect 35 per cent of global crop production, with more than 80 per cent of flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, mostly insects.
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