The British Business Bank has committed up to £10 million to Ascension Ventures through its Regional Angels Programme, which aims to address regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance.

The funding will be deployed alongside Ascension’s existing EIS and SEIS funds, as well as its institutional impact vehicle, Ascension Fund III.

The commitment is designed to improve access to patient capital for early-stage technology businesses outside London and the South East.

Ascension is one of the UK’s most active seed investors and has been recognised in recent years for its work in both technology and impact investing.