The British Business Bank (BBB) has launched a £140m fund to support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses in the East of England.

The East of England Investment Fund is part of the BBB’s plan to deliver targeted finance across every UK nation and region outside of London.

The vehicle will provide loans of between £25,000 and £2m as well as equity investments of up to £5m to help businesses start, scale and grow, the UK government’s development bank said.

The BBB’s latest investment fund follows the launch of the £210m South East of England Investment Fund earlier this month.

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“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, ” said David Hourican, incoming interim chief executive of the BBB.

“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 BBB has appointed Eastmeare, part of Beechbrook, and Mercia Ventures, part of Mercia Asset Management, to manage the fund, with the former overseeing the debt finance element and the latter managing equity investments.

The East of England Investment Fund will cover Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, the BBB said.

The region is home to 15 per cent of the UK’s university spinout businesses, yet it received just nine per cent of the UK’s total equity investment by value last year, the bank added.

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