Ascension Ventures, a British VC investing at the pre-Seed and Seed levels, has received a new up to €11.5 million (£10 million) commitment, enhancing access to capital for early-stage businesses across diverse sectors and ensuring that founders outside of London and the South East have access to the patient capital required to scale.
The commitment comes from the British Business Bank through its Regional Angles Programme; an initiative launched in 2019 with the objective of addressing regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance, targets angel networks and other early-stage investors outside of London.
This follows the close of their 2024 €19.8 million Tech4Good pre-Seed fund, as covered by EU-Startups.
Jean de Fougerolles, Managing Partner at Ascension, says: “We have long believed that talent is distributed across the UK, but opportunity is not. This up to £10 million commitment from the British Business Bank allows us to double down on our mission to back exceptional founders regardless of their postcode.”
2025 and early 2026 show sustained capital formation at the pre-Seed and Seed end of the European market, particularly through new and expanding early-stage funds.
In Germany, Munich-based Vanagon Ventures raised €20 million to focus on pre-Seed DeepTech and AI companies. In the Nordics, Copenhagen-based The Footprint Firm closed its €76 million Footprint Fund I, targeting early-stage climate and DeepTech startups across Northern Europe. The UK also saw continued activity, with Concept Ventures raising €75 million for a dedicated pre-Seed fund, and 2150 closing a significantly larger €210 million second fund, part of which continues to support earlier-stage companies.
Elsewhere, Milan-based Step Venture launched a €30 million early-stage fund, while the Netherlands’ Rubio Impact Ventures closed €70 million for its third impact-focused vehicle.
In aggregate, these announcements represent well over €480 million committed to early-stage and adjacent funds during this period.
Against this backdrop, Ascension Ventures’ commitment from the BBB sits at the smaller end of fund sizes but is more targeted in intent, reinforcing regional access to Seed-stage capital within the UK.
Mark Barry, Senior Investment Director at British Business Bank, adds: “We’re delighted to partner with Ascension, who have an incredible founder friendly reputation. This reputation, coupled with how they have demonstrated their commitment to invest commercially with impact across the UK, makes this an exciting commitment through our Regional Angels Programme.”
Founded in 2015, Ascension is an early-stage VC firm built by exited operators to back the next generation of tech and impact founders. With €115 million+ (£100 million) in assets, Ascension has backed 150+ early-stage companies, with 15 exits.
Today’s strategic partnership will see Ascension deploy the Bank’s capital alongside its existing funds (EIS/SEIS) and its institutional impact fund, Ascension Fund III.
“Crucially, this partnership bolsters our commitment to the regions, allowing us to deploy capital alongside our other funds. It reinforces our strategy to write high-conviction cheques, providing the patient, long-term support that regional founders need to build category-defining companies,” adds Mark.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/01/londons-ascension-ventures-secures-up-to-e11-5-million-commitment-to-support-regional-early-stage-founders/
