East of England Investment Fund opens: loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity up to £5m

East of England Investment Fund opens: loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity up to £5m

23 September 2026: The British Business Bank, the UK government's economic development bank, launched the East of England Investment Fund in Norwich on 23 September 2026. The fund page now reads "Open for applications". It covers Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and offers two kinds of commercial finance to small and medium-sized businesses there: loans from £25,000 to £2 million, and equity investment of up to £5 million.

The bank states the fund's size as £140 million. With this launch, it says, it now runs a targeted regional fund in every UK nation and region outside London.

How the money reaches a business

The bank does not lend or invest directly. It has appointed two fund managers, and businesses apply to them:

• Debt finance (£25,000 to £2 million): managed by Eastmeare, part of Beechbrook LLP.
• Equity finance (up to £5 million): managed by Mercia Ventures, part of Mercia Asset Management PLC.

The fund page tells businesses to look at the two options, then check eligibility and apply through the relevant manager. It says the fund covers rural, coastal and urban areas across the whole region, and that it aims to reach businesses that might otherwise not get investment.

This is commercial finance, not a grant. Loans are repaid and equity means giving up a share of the company, on terms set by the fund managers.

Why the bank says the region needed it

The press release notes that the East of England is home to 15% of the UK's university spinout businesses, but received 9% of the UK's equity investment by value last year. It names life sciences, advanced manufacturing, agri-tech, technology and clean energy among the region's sectors. The bank presents the fund as a bridge between academic research and businesses that bring it to market.

Dates to note

• 23 September 2026: fund launched; applications open through the fund managers.
• 20 October: roadshow for small business finance intermediaries at Rothamsted Research Centre, Hertfordshire.
• 21 October: roadshow at Hinxton Hall, Cambridgeshire.
• 22 October: roadshow at Adastral Park, Suffolk.

The roadshows are aimed at intermediaries such as accountants, brokers and advisers, who often bring businesses to funds like this one.

What to do

• If your business is based in one of the five counties and needs between £25,000 and £2 million of debt, read Eastmeare's criteria on the fund page before you approach a high-street lender for the same amount.
• If you are raising equity of up to £5 million, compare Mercia Ventures' terms with private offers you already have; a regional fund is often one investor in a round, not the only one.
• If you advise businesses in the region, consider the October roadshows, and keep in mind that the fund managers, not the British Business Bank, make the decisions.
• Check whether your business already has support from another British Business Bank programme, since each fund manager sets its own eligibility rules.

Sources

• British Business Bank: New £140m investment fund to unlock growth for smaller businesses in the East of England (press release) - 23 September 2026
• British Business Bank: East of England Investment Fund (fund page, read 2026-09-28) - 28 September 2026