Select audience

Choose the option that best describes your role.

Search British Business Bank
Popular Search placeholder

Midlands Engine Investment Fund II marks second anniversary with over £100 million investment milestone

Press release 02 March 2026

  • 225 businesses have been supported since the fund launched in 2024
  • Over £65 million has been directly invested, helping to unlock a further £38.6million of private sector backing
  • Region’s technology, transport and creative industries among those backed

The British Business Bank’s Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II) has facilitated more than £100m into 225 businesses across the Midlands since it launched two years ago.

MEIF II has so far directly invested over £65m into those regional businesses, alongside an additional £38.6m from the private sector.

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II is part of the British Business Bank's £1.6bn suite of Nations and Regions Investment Funds, which aim to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for UK smaller businesses. The Fund aims to support firms that may not otherwise receive investment and break down barriers in access to finance. The £400m Fund supports firms across the Midlands with loans from £25,000 and equity investments of up to £5m, delivered through a network of expert fund managers.

The Fund has supported a diverse range of businesses with growth potential while also investing in companies that support the government’s Industrial Strategy and its eight priority sectors.

Keira Shepperson, Senior Director of Regional Funds at the British Business Bank, said: 

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II plays a central role in backing the region’s most ambitious firms with high growth potential. With £100m invested so far, more than 200 of the region’s firms are already feeling the impact access to funding can have on their scaling journeys.

This second anniversary milestone is a powerful testament to the innovation, ambition and strength of entrepreneurship across the Midlands - and it is just the beginning. The region is home to innovative firms with the talent and drive to scale - and we look forward to working with more of them.

One of the Fund’s latest deals is University of Nottingham life sciences spin out, Forge Genetics, which received £2m from fund manager Mercia Ventures. Its novel gene-editing tool offers the potential to develop new drugs and safer ways to treat genetic disorders. The company was founded by Professor Nigel Minton, Dr Chris Humphreys and Dr Craig Woods who were later joined by Dr Lisa Thomas.  Based at the university, the company plans to double its 10 strong team within the next two years.

Buoyed by a strong and booming creative industry in the West Midlands, the Fund has supported a number of scaling firms in the entertainment sector. One such business is Birmingham based production company, Threewise Entertainment, which secured £100,000 through BCRS Business Loans to diversify its licensing and bring back beloved British children’s character, Bagpuss. The company is developing a big screen feature film adaptation that will bring Bagpuss to cinema audiences for the first time.

The funding has also enabled the company to strengthen its leadership team with former executives from Hasbro and Disney, alongside opportunities to expand internationally with investor and co-founder, Luna Luo, supporting the company with her local knowledge for expansion across the East Asian market..

The Fund has also supported Derbyshire based home staging business, Lemon & Lime, established in 2015 by Elaine Penhaul. Lemon & Lime recently secured six figure funding from Maven Capital Partners, building on previous investment from the first iteration of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. The funding will support the company’s evolving franchise model and enable it to expand its reach across the UK.

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II operates across the whole of the Midlands region, including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Coventry, Nottingham, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. There are five appointed fund managers through which applications can be made, depending upon location.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact mediaenquiries@british-business-bank.co.uk.

Notes to editors

About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. MEIF II offers a range of commercial finance options with small loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support smaller businesses in the Midlands at all stages of their development.
  • The funds in which the MEIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in the West and East and South East Midlands.
  • Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

About Mercia Ventures

  • Mercia Ventures is a proactive venture capital investor focused on being the first-choice partner for growth. Mercia Ventures makes equity investments of up to £10million across all sectors, with specialisms in Software, Consumer, Healthcare and Deep Tech.  
  • Mercia Ventures is part of Mercia Asset Management PLC and sits alongside its wider private equity, debt and proprietary balance sheet capital operations. The Group has 11 offices in the UK and Mercia Ventures’ national footprint and 48 strong investment team draws on their experiences as founders, PhD scientists, software engineers, corporate financiers and management consultants to help its partner companies successfully achieve their ambitions. 

Find out more: mercia.co.uk

About Maven Capital Partners

Maven Capital Partners is a leading UK private equity firm backing high-growth businesses. Maven works with ambitious management teams to support growth, innovation and long-term value creation. Maven Capital Partners is one of the UK’s leading private equity firms, specialising in investments in high-growth British companies. With a focus on innovation and value creation, Maven partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build market-leading businesses, supporting a range of transaction types, including management buyouts, growth capital, buy and build projects, equity value release and pre-IPO financing.

Find out more: mavencp.com

About BCRS Business Loans

BCRS Business Loans is a co-operative run on a non-profit basis, owned and run by Member Investors who elect representatives to the Board of Directors at each Annual General meeting. Established in 2002, BCRS is committed to lending to viable businesses making a positive contribution to the social, environmental or economic wellbeing of the West Midlands and Wales that have been unable to secure funding through mainstream lenders. As a Community Development Financial Institution its purpose is to provide access to finance to enable local businesses to grow and prosper. BCRS is a member of Responsible Finance who work to create a fair financial system in the UK by scaling up the community development finance sector. 

Find out more: bcrs.org.uk

Quick links

Latest news