British Business Bank commits £10M (€11M) to Fuel Ventures' funds through its Regional Angels Programme

The British Business Bank has committed £10 million to the Fuel Ventures funds through its Regional Angels Programme, the scheme launched in 2019 to narrow regional gaps in early-stage equity finance. The commitment widens Fuel's capacity for new early-stage investments and follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies on the way to Series A.

Founded by Mark Pearson after the sale of his voucher business, Fuel Ventures started as a backer of early-stage UK tech founders and has become a multi-stage VC with vehicles from pre-seed to Series A, designed to keep supporting companies that struggle to get follow-on funding from their existing investors.

Fuel says its funds have deployed more than £280 million across more than 230 early-stage UK companies, including early cheques in Volt, now valued at £256 million, and ContentCal, acquired for £110 million. The Bank has made similar Regional Angels commitments this year to Ascension Ventures and SFC Capital, and Mark Barry, its senior investment director, said Fuel's structure means the capital keeps working for founders beyond the first round.