Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS)

About the initiative

The Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative seeks proposals from industry for the establishment of new funds or investment structures to crowd in UK institutional investment, particularly Defined Contribution (DC) pension funds, to support the growth and ambitions of the UK’s most innovative science and technology companies.

We expect an initial government-funded commitment of up to £250m to be available to support successful proposals in mobilising institutional investment into the UK’s science and technology companies.

Key objectives of the initiative

The LIFTS initiative is being launched with the aim of achieving three objectives that will support the long-term and sustainable growth of the UK:

• Unlock UK institutional investment – catalyse more investment from UK DC pension schemes into venture and growth equity in a sustainable manner, so as to increase the supply of domestic sources of capital for productive investment and increase access to potentially higher returning assets for UK savers. Institutions that are both able to invest at scale and take a long-term view to investment, such as the numerous DC pension schemes that are accruing assets due to automatic enrolment, are uniquely positioned to provide stable, patient capital to parts of the economy that require intensive or long-term capital provision. The outcome will be to support the UK’s innovative businesses to accelerate their growth while delivering potentially higher returns for pension scheme members.
• Catalyse investment into UK science and technology – increase the supply of capital to UK science and technology scale-ups at the later stages. The UK has a wealth of science and technology businesses, which could offer valuable investment opportunities for UK savers. In addition, the Bank and others have identified a funding gap for R&D-intensive businesses seeking significant rounds of capital to scale up and accelerate their growth. We want to enable DC pension schemes to participate in these investments, providing potential benefits to their members and enabling these businesses to access the scale-up capital they need.
• Stimulate the UK VC ecosystem – sustainably increase deal flow, develop the domestic venture landscape and nurture investment and entrepreneurial talent, and attract the best international players to the UK to enable high-potential UK businesses to scale and stay here.

The offer

The British Business Bank is calling for proposals that can demonstrably meet the objectives outlined above. Government, via the British Business Bank, is willing to provide support to successful proposal(s). British Business Bank invites proposals using any of the support options detailed in the Call for Proposals document below. All options will be assessed using the assessment criteria outlined in the Call for Proposals. (The British Business Bank/Government reserves the right to award successful bidder(s) less than the amounts requested).

Successful proposals will be those that offer overall value for money in meeting the objectives and satisfying the assessment criteria set out in the Call for Proposals document.

Should prospective applicants have questions about the process that they wish to clarify before submitting a response, please contact BBB at LIFTS@british-business-bank.co.uk

Deadline for queries: 21 July 2023 at 17:00
Deadline for proposals: 28 July 2023 at 15:00

Equity Track Record Proforma

Call for Proposals LIFTS