SFC Capital Gets $12M to Back 100 More UK Startups

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-13

British early-stage investment firm SFC Capital just got a major vote of confidence. They've received an additional $12 million (roughly £10 million) from the British Business Bank under the Regional Angels Programme. This brings the Bank's total commitment to SFC Capital up to about $44.7 million (£35 million). Not bad for a firm that started back in 2012. ### What's the Regional Angels Programme All About? The Regional Angels Programme exists for a pretty specific reason: to fix the imbalance in how early-stage equity funding is spread across the UK. Historically, most of the money has flowed to London and the Southeast. This program tries to change that by making sure high-potential startups in other regions get a fair shot too. This latest injection is actually the fourth tranche of funding from the British Business Bank. They'd already committed around $31.6 million (£25 million) across three previous rounds. Now they're adding another $12 million to the pot.  ### The Numbers Are Looking Good Joseph Zipfel, Chief Investment Officer at SFC Capital, is pretty pumped about it. He says they've already deployed the previous $31.6 million and proven their model works. The results? Early cohorts from 2020 to 2022 are showing a total value to paid-in multiple of 2x. That includes several successful exits. Take Peopleforce, an HR software company. It got acquired by a European recruitment tech firm and returned more than five times the original investment. Or Ryft, a payments platform, which recently delivered a partial secondary exit of up to 6.2x for early investors. Those are the kinds of numbers that make angel investors smile.  ### A Bigger Picture for European Startups SFC Capital's new funding isn't happening in a vacuum. It's part of a wider boom in European early-stage investment capacity during 2026. According to EU-Startups, they've tracked about $767 million across seven comparable fund closes and institutional commitments. That includes: - $12.5 million for London-based Ascension Ventures through the same Regional Angels Programme - New funds from Tapestry VC, Seedcamp, Lansdowne Partners, Passion Capital, and Transition Ventures Add SFC's latest tranche, and you're looking at roughly $779 million in disclosed capital. That's a lot of money flowing into early-stage companies. ### What This Means for British Startups Mark Barry, Senior Director at the British Business Bank, puts it simply: this commitment will "address imbalances in access to early-stage finance across the UK." In plain English, it means startups outside London get a better chance to grow. SFC Capital has already invested in companies like Onfido, Cognism, and Transcend Packaging. They've deployed all previous commitments in full, funding more than 260 early-stage businesses across the UK. More than half of their investments are made outside London. They now have over 600 portfolio companies and more than $229 million (£180 million) under management. ### The Bottom Line This new $12 million is expected to fund about 100 more companies. That would bring SFC's total Regional Angels Programme impact to more than 350 early-stage businesses. For a firm that started with a simple idea—backing high-potential innovation across the country—that's a pretty impressive track record. If you're a startup founder outside London, this is good news. It means there's more money available to help you grow, no matter where you're based. And if the returns keep looking this strong, it probably won't be the last time the British Business Bank opens its wallet.