BGF To Play Its Part In Supporting Businesses Across The UK With Funding

It is heartening to read that the Growth Capital Investment group BGF (this stands for Business Growth Fund, not to be confused with the Big Friendly Giant!) has pledged huge sums of money in funding to help support businesses right across the UK. The overall funding over the next 5 years will be in the region of £3 billion, with £100 million of this money going to support high potential companies here in Northern Ireland.

Specialising In Supporting Women Led Businesses

The BGF have a special interest in supporting businesses led by women and to this end they are committing £300 million to such businesses across the UK in the same period. They have previously donated £25 million a couple of years ago to the Invest In Women Taskforce (IWT). This level of funding can make such a difference to businesses, if a company wants to grow and prosper it more often than not needs an initial injection of funds to help them realise their true potential and this is where BGF is going to come in.

The BGF investment company were established in 2011 and they specialise in providing venture capital for small and medium sized businesses in the UK and Ireland. The businesses they have helped since they started investing have created over £7 billion in revenue growth, £1 billion in export growth and they have created over 27,000 jobs. This is a company that really makes a difference.

Northern Ireland’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Remains Strong

Here is what Paddy Graham, regional partner for BGF in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said about their commitment to fund businesses in Northern Ireland, taken from an article on the Irish News website. He said:

“Despite economic headwinds, Northern Ireland’s entrepreneurial spirit remains strong.

“With this latest £100 million commitment, we’re deepening our long-standing presence here and reaffirming our mission to support more high-potential businesses with capital and strategic guidance.”

The article goes on to look at the funding being provided to female powered businesses, it reads:

On BGF’s £300m commitment to female-powered businesses, IWT co-chair Debbie Wosskow said: “This is another historic moment and builds on our already ground-breaking progress with the Invest in Women Taskforce, and is one of the largest ever made in the UK.”

A couple of businesses to point out that the BGF have helped out with funding in Northern Ireland include Connected Health who are based in Belfast and Woodland Kitchens in Ballymena.