British Business Bank backs syndicates of angel investors with £32 million

The British Business Bank has committed an additional £25 million to invest in the UK’s most promising and diverse angel syndicates, on top of a £7 million investment last year.

The total of £32 million is being invested via a platform managed by Haatch, an early-stage venture capital firm and existing partner of the British Business Bank. The partnership enables the Bank to invest alongside recently established, high-performing angel syndicates.

With more syndicates to be onboarded in the coming months, the following are already backed through the British Business Bank and Haatch’s partnership:

• HERmesa: a diverse community of over 270 women operators and entrepreneurs turned angel investors backing women-led, tech-enabled startups at pre/seed
• CircleRock Capital: a sector-agnostic platform offering access to leading early-stage investments alongside top global venture capital firms, with a focus on Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds
• The Games Angels: a collective of seasoned gaming industry professionals dedicated to investing in and supporting startups and companies shaping the future of gaming
• Sie Ventures: early-stage investor backing diverse founding teams across the UK and Europe
• 2050 Capital: a deep tech and science investment firm investing in transformative and defensible innovation that impacts large fundamental sectors.

Since May 2025, 13 companies across the UK’s regions have received investment through this scheme, which is also reaching a wide range of sectors, including Healthcare, Sustainability and Deep Tech & AI. The investment is also backing a diverse mix of founders, including a Savile Row-trained designer, a practising midwife, a Women in Innovation award-winner, and Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni.

Fred Soneya, Co-founder and General Partner at Haatch, said:

“For the UK’s startup ecosystem to properly thrive, collaboration between investors is absolutely vital. Funding must reach the best and most innovative businesses, and this partnership between the British Business Bank, Haatch and some brilliant angel syndicates is a really strong example of how we can deliver that. An exciting, diverse range of startups have already been backed, and by working with more syndicates from across the UK, we’re going to direct early-stage funding to the best and brightest startups in the country.”

Mark Barry, Senior Investment Director at British Business Bank, added: 

“Since its launch last May, this platform has already made more than a dozen investments into a diverse range of businesses to drive growth across a number of sectors. We are now looking to scale this platform by investing alongside more great syndicates across the country.”