---
title: "British Business Bank Commits £2M to Brighton's South East Angels"
url: "https://bizztor.com/news/british-business-bank-2m-south-east-angels/"
author: "Bizztor"
author_url: "https://bizztor.com/author/bizztor/"
date_published: "2026-11-04T13:00:00.000Z"
date_modified: "2026-11-14T10:36:03.645Z"
category: "News"
description: "The Regional Angels Programme money will be co-invested with the group's 100-plus members, who have put over £7M into 48 startups since 2020."
publisher: "Bizztor"
---

# British Business Bank Commits £2M to Brighton's South East Angels

> The Regional Angels Programme money will be co-invested with the group's 100-plus members, who have put over £7M into 48 startups since 2020.

**The British Business Bank has committed £2M to South East Angels, a Brighton-based angel investor group, through its Regional Angels Programme.**

[The bank announced the commitment](https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/news-and-events/news/british-business-bank-commits-ps2m-south-east-angels) in early November. The money will be co-invested alongside South East Angels' members into early-stage startups across the South East and the wider UK.

The deal runs through the Haatch platform, which lets the bank invest next to smaller angel groups that lack the regulatory set-up of a venture fund.

## Who are South East Angels?

[South East Angels](https://www.southeastangels.co.uk/) was founded in late 2020 by Kristina Pereckaite with five founding members. Before that, she spent four years leading a Brighton startup accelerator.

Pereckaite has said very few Brighton startups were raising local money at the time. She kept having to tap her London network to help founders.

The group now has more than 100 members. They say they have invested over £7M in 48 startups since 2020.

## What do South East Angels invest in?

Cheques range from £50,000 to £350,000. The group's first investment, in December 2020, was AutonoMe, a social care technology platform.

Its first exit came when Glidewell Dental bought ORB, a smart mouthguard maker. Other portfolio companies include Blue Skies Space and EarSwitch.

The group also runs Future Angels, a programme that trains more women to become angel investors.

## What is the Regional Angels Programme?

The programme launched in 2019 to boost early-stage equity outside London. It has £285M of capital and usually commits £5M to £15M per partner, so this £2M deal is smaller than most.

It works alongside the bank's Haatch platform, which started in April 2025 with £7M for five emerging syndicates. That pot has since grown to £32M.

Mark Barry, senior investment director at the British Business Bank, called South East Angels one of the most active angel communities outside London. Pereckaite said the backing means more capital reaching founders at the stage when it matters most.

## Why does regional angel money matter?

London took 57% of UK equity investment by value in 2025, according to the bank's Small Business Equity Tracker. Seed-stage deals fell 27% across the UK in the same year.

Angel groups often fill that gap first in towns and cities where venture funds rarely look.

## What this means for UK founders

If you are building in Sussex, Kent, Surrey or Hampshire, a local angel group backed by state money is now a more realistic first cheque. It also means a £100k to £300k round can close faster, with the bank's money matching members' cheques.

The British Business Bank has been busy this autumn, from its [£180m commitment to six AI and deep tech funds](https://bizztor.com/news/british-business-bank-commits-180m-to-six-ai-and-deeptech-funds/) to backing first-time managers such as [Evertrue Capital's $17M fund](https://bizztor.com/news/evertrue-capital-17m-debut-fund-yvonne-bajela/).

Before pitching angels, make sure you have [validated your startup idea](https://bizztor.com/guides/how-to-validate-your-startup-idea-before-writing-a-single-line-of-code-2026-guide/). Angel groups like this one back founders who can show early demand.

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Source: https://bizztor.com/news/british-business-bank-2m-south-east-angels/