UKBAA statement on the Prime Minister’s CBI address

Jenny Tooth, CEO of UK Business Angels Association, said:

“UKBAA welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to address the gap in later-stage funding for businesses. Scale up remains a challenge in the UK, with the majority of growth capital being allocated to startups. This represents a missed opportunity for investors and the wider economy; and UKBAA is therefore supportive of the launch of the Patient Capital Review, which we hope will help identify how obstacles preventing long-term investment from flowing into high-growth businesses can be removed. We would like to see in place in the UK a connected ecosystem for funding businesses from early-stage angel backing through to global scale up.

“We are also supportive of the renewed focus on the Small Business Research Initiative, which can be transformational for small businesses and innovators. The strategic use of government procurement can benefit both UK businesses, through acquiring funding for new ideas; and public sector organisations, through accessing new solutions and technologies.

“We agree with the Prime Minister that we have outstanding firms in every part of this country, but the concentration of capital is too focused on London and the South East. The angel community is poised to help businesses take advantage of these new opportunities and attract the investment that they need to flourish, not only in London and the South East but across the whole of the UK.”