Government's coronavirus Future Fund opens for business

The new fund opens on 20 May for applications from innovative companies which are experiencing financing difficulties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Demand is likely to outstrip the Government’s initial commitment of access to £250m and although more funding may be released, applications are being assessed on a first come first served basis so it will be important for companies and investors to take action as soon as they can.

We are already working with a number of clients, including institutional investors and tech companies to access this scheme and would be happy to speak to you if you want to find out more. 

As previously trailed in our earlier article, The Future Fund is aimed at innovative companies (usually tech-based and/or those backed by Venture Capital funding) who need support to survive the coronavirus crisis. They will usually be in the early stage lifecycle of a business where the other Government crisis schemes (such as the Small Business Grant Fund and the Business Interruption Loan Scheme) are just not suitable.

The Future Fund will essentially allow eligible companies to access cash (by way of a loan convertible into equity) of between £125,000 and £5,000,000 provided third party investors also match the Government funding on the same terms.

Amongst the many rules and criteria (and other than the match-funding mentioned above), the other key criterion for eligibility is that the company must have received at least £250,000 of equity investment from third party investors in the last five years. This makes it more likely suit tech-based or VC backed companies, but does not necessarily exclude other sectors.

There are also more details on the Future Fund for founders here and investors here.