British Business Bank Investments invests €13m in Atlantic Bridge III, a new fund for tech firms

The Venture Capital Catalyst Fund of British Business Bank Investments Limited, the Sheffield-based commercial arm of the British Business Bank, has invested £10m (€13m) in the first close of Atlantic Bridge III, a new €140m fund for technology companies with global market scalability.

Se tot invest in up to 20 companies, Atlantic Bridge III will focus on scaling businesses in the UK, Ireland and across Europe in high growth enterprise technology sectors including cloud, big data, augmented and virtual reality software and robotics.

The investment from British Business Bank Investments will help Atlantic Bridge scale up its existing operations in the UK as it seeks to continue to invest in the UK’s tech sector.

Other participants in the new fund include existing Atlantic Bridge investors, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Enterprise Ireland and the European Investment Fund, along with other new institutional investors and pension funds.

Atlantic Bridge is one of the largest European technology funds, with offices in Dublin, London, Silicon Valley, Beijing and Hong Kong. The latest fund brings the total assets under management of Atlantic Bridge to €400m.

Atlantic Bridge, using its international platform and ‘Bridge Model’, has scaled a range of European companies into the US and Chinese markets - the key markets for technology companies.

Atlantic Bridge currently has over 20 companies in its funds’ portfolio, and has realized investments across 12 firms with proceeds totaling over €1.7bn.

Keith Morgan, chairman of British Business Bank Investments Ltd, said: “Atlantic Bridge’s new fund will allow it to significantly enhance its footprint in the fast-growth UK technology sector.

“We have been impressed by the team who between them have extensive operational experience and real passion for the sector. We are really pleased to back the new fund and look forward to working together as they increase their exposure to the vibrant UK technology sector.”

Kevin Dillon, managing partner of Atlantic Bridge, London, added: “We are delighted to launch Atlantic Bridge III. We already have a number of pipeline investments identified for the Fund and are confident that this will build on the track record of success of our previous Funds. As a growth equity stage Fund, Atlantic Bridge III will focus on taking companies with a solid and exciting business model to the next level, scaling them into key international markets like the US and China.”