FW Capital Hits £10 Million Milestone for South West Investment Fund

FW Capital has surpassed a significant milestone, providing over £10 million of funding through the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund. This achievement is delivering critical growth capital to businesses across Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, North and North East Somerset, and Wiltshire.

In recognition of the high demand for local business support, FW Capital has also been awarded an additional allocation of £7 million from the £200m fund. This increases total funds managed by FW Capital for the South West region from £19 million to £26 million, significantly expanding its capacity to fuel innovation, job creation, and economic resilience.

Since the launch of the South West Investment Fund in 2023, FW Capital has been instrumental in bridging the funding gap for ambitious businesses looking to scale and expand their services. It is one of four fund managers in the region managing the fund and provides debt finance to businesses in Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, North and North East Somerset and Wiltshire. 

David Goodall, Fund Manager at FW Capital said: “The South West Investment Fund is a relatively new fund that has become a well-established part of the region’s funding eco system. Reaching the £10 million mark for FW Capital is a testament to the incredible entrepreneurial talent we have here in the South West and demonstrates the scale of impact the fund is having. With more than 23 businesses already supported by FW Capital, we are backing innovation and ambition across a variety of sectors. 

“Securing an additional £7 million allows us to keep that momentum going. Our goal is to ensure that local businesses have the finance they need to scale. We’ve already worked with several successful businesses to assist the next stage of growth including Needles & Pins, Purple Lime, Tailfin, Double Puc Café and Tuffking to name just a few. We’re keen to generate greater awareness for the fund to support more businesses moving forward.”

The South West Investment Fund covers the entire South West region and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

Since launch the South West Investment Fund has successfully completed over 250 investments into small businesses, delivering over £56m of direct investments and leveraging an additional £64m from the private sector. 

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the region. It is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance.