On June 30, 2020, the UK Government announced its Future Fund convertible loan scheme is being expanded to accommodate businesses that contribute significantly to the UK economy, but do not have their parent company based in the UK because they participated in a non-UK based accelerator programme.

Wilson Sonsini is advising the British Business Bank on the U.S. legal and regulatory aspects of the Future Fund extension initiative, working alongside Ashurst LLP (as UK legal adviser). The Wilson Sonsini team is led by London partners Daniel Glazer and Michael Labriola, and includes partners Stacy Kim and Ryan Greecher, and Of Counsel Derek Wallace.

The Future Fund supports UK innovative businesses currently affected by COVID-19. These businesses have been unable to access other UK government business support programmes, because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. The scheme provides government funding through convertible loan notes which will be unlocked by private investment on a match funded basis. Developed by the UK government and delivered by the British Business Bank, the Future Fund launched for applications in May and will initially be open until the end of September.

“The Future Fund has provided a tremendous boost to UK-based entrepreneurial businesses since its launch last month,” said Daniel Glazer, founding partner of Wilson Sonsini’s London office. “The Wilson Sonsini team is proud to collaborate with the British Business Bank to extend the benefits of the Future Fund initiative to UK businesses that have raised capital from U.S. accelerator programmes.”