Banking on Britain
Our call for the British Business Bank to commit £1bn to a portfolio of quoted company investments, prioritising companies valued under £100mn.
The Funding Cliff-Edge
AIM companies are 50% more productive than the national average, yet hundreds fall into a severe capital gap that current public funding models fail to reach.
+ 365 AIM companies
sit on a funding cliff-edge: too large for VCT and EIS tax reliefs, yet too small to attract major institutional investment.
90% of AIM companies
report that UK equity markets are currently undervaluing their business.
QCA member Built Cybernetics, an AIM-quoted property tech company, is one of hundreds facing this gap.
”BBB-backed funds are arbitrarily barred from investing due to our quote; and without access to the Venture Capital Schemes investors will only supply limited amounts of equity at a sizeable discount to a valuation that, given the market’s awareness of these challenges, is already a fraction of equivalent unquoted businesses.
Nick ClarkCEO, Built Cybernetics
What We're Calling For
Our Call to Action
Invest £1bn of the Bank’s existing capacity in quoted growth companies overlooked by traditional institutional capital.
Why £1billion?
A £1bn commitment represents **under 4%** of the Bank’s £25.6bn capacity.
This does not require new government funding. It is an intentional reallocation of existing capacity toward high-growth, quoted UK businesses on AIM and Aquis that currently fall outside the Bank’s remit.
How would it work?
The QCA is proposing the Bank invest indirectly at first, channelling the £1bn through the UK’s existing small-cap fund managers rather than picking individual companies itself.
The QCA proposes that the Bank invest indirectly at first, channeling capital through existing UK small-cap fund managers.
- Channelling funds through established managers ensures capital reaches growth companies in immediate, continuous waves rather than slow, direct transactions.
- The British Business Bank already successfully utilises this indirect model through British Patient Capital’s venture investments.
- When Singapore launched a comparable indirect intervention, exchange trading volumes rose 30% within a single year. Over time, the Bank can build toward direct co-investment as market participation matures.
The Numbers Behind the Ask
Campaign Impact
Since we launched our campaign, the QCA has taken the case for a £1bn commitment directly to government, industry, and the Bank itself.
This is only the start of the conversation. The QCA will keep making the case until the Bank commits.
Ways to Get Involved
Share Our Report
Download the full research paper and share with your network.
Share Your Evidence
Tell us how the funding cliff-edge impacts your business to strengthen our policy evidence.
Write to Your MP
Download our letter to lobby your local MP.