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The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland has delivered over £25 million in financial support to Scottish businesses since it launched 18 months ago, supporting 58 firms across the country to develop and grow.

Alongside the significant investment from the Bank, an additional £26 million in private sector funding has also been committed, making the total investment into Scotland over £52 million so far.

Launched in October 2023, the Investment Fund for Scotland aims to improve access to finance and boost the Scottish economy, with loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million available to help small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead. Delivered through its dedicated fund managers – DSL Business Finance, The FSE Group and Maven Capital Partners.

Pets-Cetera, a luxury pet accessories boutique in the west end of Glasgow, is among the latest businesses to receive funding via the smaller loans portion of the fund, managed by DSL Business Finance. While on maternity leave from her day job, owner Catriona Blue seized the opportunity to acquire the established retail business, which had been put up for sale. After a year of planning, Catriona received the keys earlier this year following the agreement of a £50,000 loan.

Catriona said: 

"I grew up on a farm and helped my parents to run the business there, so I was keen to find another opportunity to be my own boss alongside my professional career. With a young family, it is inevitably busy, but the children will hopefully gain lots of happy memories of spending time at the shop. I am excited to see the business develop and in future would love to open Pets-Cetera in other locations and add dog grooming services to the offering."

F-CAD, a Glasgow-based engineering design firm, has also recently secured support from the Investment Fund for Scotland. The company provides advanced computer-aided design (CAD) modelling, reverse engineering – analysing existing products to recreate or improve them – and design-for-manufacture services. By partnering with businesses, F-CAD helps turn early-stage ideas into production-ready designs, strengthens in-house design capabilities, and shortens the time it takes to move from concept to market.

Ryan Ferguson, Managing Director at F-CAD, said: 

"We are an ambitious business based in Glasgow and the support through DSL Business Finance will enable us to accelerate growth plans. We’ll be expanding the team and investing in new equipment to allow the business to scale up and continue to diversify our customer base. In the months ahead, we hope to target additional international contracts in new markets, supporting manufacturing and innovation in the UK and further afield."

Other businesses that have been supported through the fund include Aberdeen based biotechnology firm NCIMB, Glasgow private healthcare provider Elanic Hospital, and Perthshire hospitality firm Bee Happy Breaks.

Mark Sterritt, Director, Nations and Regions Funds, at the British Business Bank, said: 

"Achieving this scale of investment in a relatively short time frame is great to see, and even more encouraging is the additional finance that has been committed through other institutions and syndicates. Scotland is a proud nation of small businesses, many supporting local economies and jobs, as well as embracing emerging technologies in exciting high-growth sectors that have the potential to shape industries.

The Investment Fund for Scotland has encouraged business owners in all parts of Scotland to use finance to build their teams, expand into new markets and develop new products, with many of them exploring debt finance for the first time. Common among these entrepreneurs is an appetite for growth and being able to access support along the way is a crucial aspect of success. The £150 million fund was established to improve access to finance for growing businesses with investment strategies that best meet their needs, regardless of who they are or where they are based, and it is great to see the impact so far."

Backed by Haatch and the South West Investment Fund, the startup automates the most painful parts of mortgage advice—starting with admin. 

Startup JammJar is coming out of stealth with a platform designed to overhaul how mortgage brokers operate—by eliminating the admin that slows them down. With backing from early-stage investors Haatch and the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via fund manager The FSE Group, the company is launching publicly today with a goal to become the Al operating system for the UK's mortgage advice industry. 

The UK's mortgage market is worth £l .9 billion annually, with over 85% of mortgages arranged through brokers. But the tools those brokers rely on are "built for compliance, not productivity," says JammJar co-founder and CEO Karl Griffin. That means 14+ hours a week spent on repetitive tasks—data entry, note-taking, document management—often across siloed systems. 

JammJar replaces that with a single Al-native platform that listens to broker calls, updates the CRM in real time, auto-generates documents and suitability notes, and even matches clients with suitable lenders based on live eligibility criteria. 

"Most broker software hasn't evolved in a decade. We're rebuilding the tech stack around the advisor—not the admin," says Karl Griffin, CEO, a former enterprise sales lead at Zoopla and founder of a digital mortgage firm. 

JammJar is designed for how brokers actually work—by integrating phone calls, video, email, CRM, and sourcing in one place. As soon as an advisor finishes a client call, the system generates a complete Fact-Find and updates the case record, automatically. 

"It's been transformational," said Felicity Chappell, Director at Mortgage Select SW, an early customer. "The Al writes the Fact-Find instantly. Our advisors can focus on advice, not forms—and our clients get a smoother, faster experience." 

JammJar has already signed its first customers through a closed beta and is now opening a waitlist. Investors are betting that it can scale fast in a market long overdue for innovation.  

"JammJar are addressing a huge pain for mortgage advisors. Over 80% of clients fall out of the process due to clunky, manual workflows," said Charlie Weavers-Wright of Haatch. "The team have deep industry experience—we're proud to back them early." 

"We were deeply impressed by the exceptional quality of the founding team and the groundbreaking solutions they've brought to a market ripe for disruption," added Matt Browning of the South West Investment Fund, via appointed fund manager The FSE Group. 

Paul Jones, Senior Investment Manager from the British Business Bank said: “Supporting ambitious and innovative businesses like JammJar is what the South West Investment Fund is designed to do and we wish the team every success with the launch of their AI-powered platform.” 

The UK has over 37,000 regulated mortgage advisors, with most firms still using outdated CRMs or off-the-shelf solutions not built for financial services. Many operate virtually, under pressure from both compliance requirements and consumer demand for digital experiences. 

Griffin believes that gives JammJar a wedge: "We're not building a generic CRM or shiny chatbot. We're building infrastructure—one that brokers actually want to use because it saves time, improves compliance, and helps them grow." 

Backed by Haatch and the South West Investment Fund, the startup automates the most painful parts of mortgage advice—starting with admin. 

Startup JammJar is coming out of stealth with a platform designed to overhaul how mortgage brokers operate—by eliminating the admin that slows them down. With backing from early-stage investors Haatch and the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via fund manager The FSE Group, the company is launching publicly today with a goal to become the Al operating system for the UK's mortgage advice industry. 

The UK's mortgage market is worth £l .9 billion annually, with over 85% of mortgages arranged through brokers. But the tools those brokers rely on are "built for compliance, not productivity," says JammJar co-founder and CEO Karl Griffin. That means 14+ hours a week spent on repetitive tasks—data entry, note-taking, document management—often across siloed systems. 

JammJar replaces that with a single Al-native platform that listens to broker calls, updates the CRM in real time, auto-generates documents and suitability notes, and even matches clients with suitable lenders based on live eligibility criteria. 

"Most broker software hasn't evolved in a decade. We're rebuilding the tech stack around the advisor—not the admin," says Karl Griffin, CEO, a former enterprise sales lead at Zoopla and founder of a digital mortgage firm. 

JammJar is designed for how brokers actually work—by integrating phone calls, video, email, CRM, and sourcing in one place. As soon as an advisor finishes a client call, the system generates a complete Fact-Find and updates the case record, automatically. 

"It's been transformational," said Felicity Chappell, Director at Mortgage Select SW, an early customer. "The Al writes the Fact-Find instantly. Our advisors can focus on advice, not forms—and our clients get a smoother, faster experience." 

JammJar has already signed its first customers through a closed beta and is now opening a waitlist. Investors are betting that it can scale fast in a market long overdue for innovation.  

"JammJar are addressing a huge pain for mortgage advisors. Over 80% of clients fall out of the process due to clunky, manual workflows," said Charlie Weavers-Wright of Haatch. "The team have deep industry experience—we're proud to back them early." 

"We were deeply impressed by the exceptional quality of the founding team and the groundbreaking solutions they've brought to a market ripe for disruption," added Matt Browning of the South West Investment Fund, via appointed fund manager The FSE Group. 

Paul Jones, Senior Investment Manager from the British Business Bank said: “Supporting ambitious and innovative businesses like JammJar is what the South West Investment Fund is designed to do and we wish the team every success with the launch of their AI-powered platform.” 

The UK has over 37,000 regulated mortgage advisors, with most firms still using outdated CRMs or off-the-shelf solutions not built for financial services. Many operate virtually, under pressure from both compliance requirements and consumer demand for digital experiences. 

Griffin believes that gives JammJar a wedge: "We're not building a generic CRM or shiny chatbot. We're building infrastructure—one that brokers actually want to use because it saves time, improves compliance, and helps them grow." 

• British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund has driven almost £66m of investment into businesses across the region
• Latest deals include a medtech business and a social enterprise

The British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund is marking its 150th deal having driven almost £66m of investment into new and growing businesses across the region.

Launched in 2023, the £200m fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses across the whole of the South West, offering loans from £25,000 up to equity investment of £5m.

The British Business Bank is the UK’s government-backed development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses.

Latest figures show the South West Investment Fund has delivered £33.3m of direct investment, leveraging a further £32.4m from the private sector via 150 deals, with 135 businesses across the region receiving funding (some businesses have received more than one round of investment).

To date, 26 businesses have received £18.4m of equity finance, while 25 businesses have received debt finance totalling £9.6m. Smaller loans, totalling £5.4m, have been made to 84 businesses.

Lizzy Upton, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The South West Investment Fund was established to unlock the growth potential of the region’s businesses and we’re delighted to have marked the fund’s 150th deal. With investment reaching businesses at all stages in a wide range of sectors, we are supporting economic growth across the South West and catalysing private sector investment almost pound for pound.”

Among the most recent deals is an investment in Lutra Health, a medtech platform revolutionising eyecare, and AutonoMe, a social enterprise enabling neurodiverse people and those with learning disabilities to live and work more independently.

Lutra Health, which is headquartered in Exeter, secured £350,000 from the South West Investment Fund via appointed fund manager The FSE Group, as part of an ongoing fundraise also involving South West-based venture capital firm QantX.

The funding will allow Lutra to grow its team over the next three years and expand the reach of its platform which connects patients, optometrists, and eye surgeons to streamline the eyecare journey. This expansion will support key NHS initiatives set out in the recent spending review, such as enhancing digital capabilities and integrating services across care settings.”. The company said trials of its platform had shown a 91% reduction in cataract outpatient visits and a 54% reduction in surgical wait times.

Charles Solanki, CEO and co-founder of Lutra Health, said: “We’re thrilled to receive this funding from the South West Investment Fund, which will help us advance our technology and expand our team, ultimately improving patient care and streamlining processes across the eyecare spectrum. This funding marks a pivotal step towards our goal of transforming eyecare delivery.”

Meg Salt, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, said: “Lutra’s founding consultant eye surgeons have leveraged their clinical expertise and commercial savvy to address significant inefficiencies in existing eyecare pathways. Having been in communication with the business over the past year, we’ve witnessed exceptional trial feedback and the securing of both NHS and private hospital contracts, giving us confidence in Lutra’s ability to scale into a profitable company with a strong growth trajectory.”

AutonoMe, based in Weston-Super-Mare, received a six-figure investment from the South West Investment Fund through fund manager FW Capital. Founded by former SEND lecturer William Britton, AutonoMe supports neurodiverse individuals and those with learning disabilities by combining mobile technology with mentorship to develop skills for independent living and employment.

William Britton said: “AutonoMe was born out of the frustration I had surrounding the limited learning tools available for neurodiverse individuals and people with learning difficulties. I used my background as a Lecturer and Video Production experience to create a blended model of tailored learning tools using mobile technology alongside a real-life person as a mentor. I’ve been steadily growing the business and have now reached the point where I need additional finance to take the business to the next stage. This investment is instrumental to our growth.”

Ben Donati, Investment Executive at FW Capital, added: “AutonoMe has created a fantastic app that helps people with learning difficulties get into paid employment and live independently. Will and his team are passionate about this product and it’s making a real difference to confidence and success achieved by those with learning disabilities and neurodiversity.”

The South West Investment Fund operates across the whole of the South West region including Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. There are four appointed fund managers through which applications can be made, depending upon location.

Find out more at www.southwestinvestmentfund.co.uk

West Yorkshire-based Amity Brew Co is expanding into the UK trade and overseas markets with investment from Finance Yorkshire.

The company – founded in 2020 during the Covid lockdown – is opening a new production facility in Bradford to increase the supply of beers to its existing taproom in Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley.

The £150,000 investment from Finance Yorkshire’s loan fund will support Amity Brew’s fit out of the new brewing operation at Albion Mills in Greengates.

The increase in brewing capacity will also enable the company to increase its sales elsewhere, including the supply of new markets in Europe, Asia and Scandinavia.

Amity Brew was founded by experienced beer experts Rich Degnan and Russell Clarke.

Rich said: “We are ambitious to expand our offer to customers across West Yorkshire as well as further afield. With the support of Finance Yorkshire, our new brewery operation will enable us to stay true to our vision of community, friendship and good beer while extending our reach to a much wider customer base.”

Finance Yorkshire’s investment has also enabled Amity Brew Co to strengthen its team with the appointment of Josh Waldock as sales and events manager. A well-known figure in the craft beer industry, Josh brings over a decade of experience and a passion for connecting people and building relationships.

“My journey started behind the bar where I developed a deep appreciation for the art of brewing and the stories that come with every pint,” said Josh. “Whether it’s collaborating with like-minded breweries, organising unforgettable events or exploring new ways to grow, I’m all about making meaningful connections that drive results. I’m excited to be part of Amity as we build something special in Bradford and beyond.”

Alex McWhirter, CEO of Finance Yorkshire, said: “In a short space of time, the Amity Brew team have established a solid and exciting brand which is ready to broaden its appeal to a larger home and a new and developing overseas market.

“Finance Yorkshire is looking forward to supporting Amity with investment for its new brewery and equipment which will help fulfil the team’s enthusiastic growth ambitions – particularly as a community-orientated business.”