Barclays invests in Sustainable Ventures to help drive UK expansion
Sustainable Ventures, the UK’s leading climate tech cluster, today announced it has secured £3million in its first fundraising led by Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and other investors to support UK expansion.
Having opened in 2011, Sustainable Ventures will use the funding to grow the number of sites in the UK, launching in Manchester in 2024. In addition, the funding will enable Sustainable Ventures to access talent and provide additional professional services to startups.
Sustainable Ventures is already one of the UK’s most active tech investors and the largest of its type in Europe. Its unique model combines funding, workspaces and expert support services – with unrivaled access to a pipeline of over £1bn of leading climate tech investment opportunities. With a +90% success rate, Sustainable Ventures’ winning concept has supported over 450 climate tech companies rapidly scale their technologies, drive increased returns, and create more than 5,500 jobs.
Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital is investing £500million of Barclays’ own equity capital in climate tech startups, helping them to scale to solve environmental challenges. Barclays has previously invested in three businesses that are also supported by Sustainable Ventures – Airex, creator of the world’s first smart air brick, Brill Power, pioneers of technology to extend battery lifespans and output, and Sunswap, zero-emission transport refrigeration.
This investment will link local stakeholders into growing regional clusters whilst ensuring climate tech specialists and entrepreneurs receive the bespoke support they need and deserve. Manchester is the fastest growing UK tech hub outside of London and it has been reported as the most digitally inclusive city in the UK, with a £5bn digital tech ecosystem and home to over 10,000 startup and scaleup companies. This expansion will assist the region in meeting its accelerated 2038 net zero target whilst delivering inclusive green jobs and boosting the economy.
Steven Poulter, Head of Principal Structuring and Investments at Barclays will also join the Board of Sustainable Ventures.
Andrew Wordsworth, co-founder & Managing Partner of Sustainable Ventures, said: “After specialising in the sector for more than 20 years, climate tech is now the sector of choice for entrepreneurs and it’s imperative that local initiatives, entrepreneurs and capital meet. This has been Sustainable Ventures’ purpose for more than a decade. We’re delighted that with the support of Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital investment, we can support hundreds more innovators to go further and faster on their journey to overcome the challenges of climate change.”
Steven Poulter, Head of Principal Structuring and Investments at Barclays, added: “The UK with its world-leading universities, research and manufacturing capabilities has the potential to be the global hub for climate tech companies that become future unicorns. Through Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, the bank is investing its own capital in Sustainable Ventures’ UK expansion to support growth at pace for these innovative low-carbon solutions leveraging our experience as an advisor, bank and investor.”