The British Business Bank has put out a call for proposals as part of the government’s Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative.

The bank wants proposals from industry to establish new funds or investment structures from institutional investors, such as defined contribution pension schemes (DC), to support science and technology in the UK.

The government is expected to make an initial contribution of £250 million to support proposals and mobilise institutional investment into technology companies.

The bank is now inviting managed fund proposals from DC pension schemes and from authorised asset managers which have at least one UK DC pension scheme willing to support the proposal by investing.

The initiative aims to unlock UK institutional investment and enable UK businesses to grow while providing potentially higher returns for pension scheme members.

The bank said that the initiative will also increase the supply of private capital into science and technology businesses when they are at a later stage in their business journey. The increased investment will allow businesses to scale up and accelerate their growth, it added.

“LIFTS is an important initiative, with the potential to unlock billions of pounds of additional investment for the UK’s fastest growing science and technology companies, while also enabling the UK’s pension savers to benefit from the value created by UK innovation,” said Louis Taylor, chief executive of British Business Bank.

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