As a leading, early-stage British manufacturing investor, at British Design Fund (BDF) we are proud to back purpose-led engineering and manufacturing technology start-ups, who are ready to scale and build thriving standout businesses.
As part of the added value we offer to investees, it was a pleasure to recently invite our portfolio companies to join us at The Shard in London, for our inaugural BDF Connect event. It was an afternoon packed with educational workshops and networking, with valuable insights and advice shared by our expert guests.
Damon Bonser, CEO, “It was fantastic to be joined by so many of our portfolio companies and valued partners, for our inaugural BDF Connect event, held at the stunning Mathys & Squire LLP offices at the Shard in London.
“From the whole BDF team, a huge thank you to everyone who attended and especially to those who made the journey across the country to be with us. It was amazing to see so many of our portfolio teams and advisers together in the same space, sharing challenges and successes. A special mention also for event sponsor Mathys & Squire for helping bring our vision to life, and in such a spectacular venue.”
Since being founded, British Design Fund has invested more than £5M in 37 innovative purpose-led engineering and manufacturing technology start-ups, which come from a diverse range of industries, including healthtech, solar and energy efficiency, prosthetics and robotics.
Reflecting on the history of the fund, John Mathers, Chair, said: “For those of you who don’t know the provenance of the British Design Fund, it dates back ten years to when David Kremer, one of the Fund’s Directors, and his father, Tom (sadly no longer with us) came to see me at the Design Council about setting up an Accelerator Programme to support the development of very early stage product ideas.
“That was the genesis of the Spark Programme, which ran for over two years and supported dozens of new start-ups – a couple of whom are now in the BDF family. What we found was that it was very difficult, at the end of the twenty-week programme, to find venture capital interest. Which is why we set up the British Design Fund.
“We saw a clear gap in the market for funding that was purely focused on innovative, British product businesses. Seeing so many of our portfolio companies together in one room, really brought home what we’ve managed to achieve with BDF and its impact, and it makes us tremendously proud. We hope this event will be the first of many such occasions.”
*Capital at risk
