Last month, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a number of measures to help innovative firms survive the Coronavirus pandemic. One of these measures was the launch of a special investment fund for high-growth companies impacted by the crisis, made up of funding from government and the private sector, called the Future Fund. The government has committed to an initial £250 million in funding towards the scheme. This amount will be kept under review.
Funding applications for the Future Fund opened on 20 May 2020 and the scheme will remain open until the end of September 2020. The Future Fund will provide government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to private investors at least matching the government commitment.
These convertible loans may be an option for businesses that rely on equity investment and are unable to access other government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit.
There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to apply for a loan. For example, qualifying businesses must be an unlisted UK registered company that has raised at least £250k in equity investment in the past five years. The company must also have been incorporated on or before 31 December 2019.