The South West Investment Fund, set up by the British Business Bank, has driven nearly £100m of investment into new and growing businesses across the South West.
Launched in 2023, the £200m fund has boosted early-stage finance for smaller firms, offering loans from £25,000 up to £5m in equity investment.
So far, the fund has delivered £51.8m directly and leveraged a further £48.1m from the private sector through 218 deals.
Funding has gone to 203 businesses across the region.
The latest deal saw a £1.275m investment in Bath-based Eden Conveyancing, a digital conveyancing platform, via Maven Capital Partners.
Mark Sterritt, senior director at the British Business Bank, said: “Hitting the £100m milestone is a great achievement for the South West Investment Fund and demonstrates the scale of impact it is having in the region.
“With more than 200 businesses already supported, the Fund is backing innovation and ambition across a wide range of sectors.
“This includes businesses like Eden Conveyancing, allowing the business to scale and expand its services.”
Eden Conveyancing’s MyEden platform brings together documents, finances and communications in one hub.
The platform is set up to speed up transactions and make them more transparent, with real-time tracking and clear fees.
Each client is assigned a named property lawyer for their case.
The investment will help Eden Conveyancing expand sales and marketing, create jobs, and grow its partnership model with estate agents and mortgage brokers.
There are also plans to launch a new remortgaging service.
Melanie Goward, partner at Maven, said: “Eden have built a scalable and agile system with built-in automation, while its proprietary legal technology analyses property titles and streamlines conveyancing, making the process faster, more cost-effective, and client friendly.
“With the UK’s residential conveyancing market valued at £3.66 billion, Eden is well positioned to scale. We’re delighted to support Bruce and the team at this point in the company’s journey and look forward to working with them to achieve their growth objectives.”
Bruce Griffin, CEO at Eden Conveyancing, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Maven and the British Business Bank to accelerate our growth plans.
“The investment will allow us to further develop our market-leading digital conveyancing platform and provide a new type of conveyancing service to even more homeowners.
“Maven’s experience coupled with our expanded Senior Leadership Team will enable us to build a business that impacts the future of conveyancing.”
