A funding and investment group is the latest company to open an office at Exeter Science Park.

The FSE Group, which supports high growth businesses through the provision of loans and equity investments, moved to the Devon enterprise space. The organisation has been delivering funding solutions in the south west since 2018 as the appointed fund manager for the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF).

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As CIOSIF comes to a close in December, the £200m South West Investment Fund has been launched by the British Business Bank to provide a range of commercial finance options to growing businesses across the whole of the South West region. The FSE Group is managing the debt finance and equity finance part of the South West Investment Fund for Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, providing loans from £100,000 to £2m, and equity investments up to £5m.

Ralph Singleton, FSE head of equity, south west, said: “We’re delighted to be based at the Exeter Science Park, which is home to many innovative businesses that we’re excited to work with.

"Exeter is a great location for us, with extensive links across the south west. We’ll be taking full advantage of the variety of co-working and breakout spaces that the Park has to offer, and would like to thank Sally Basker and her team for their warm welcome.”

Jason Buck, senior business development manager at Exeter Science Park, added, “We’re very pleased to welcome the FSE Team to Exeter Science Park. We view the science park community as an eco-system and funders are a vitally important part of that. The FSE Group already has connections with many of our organisations and we’re looking forward to seeing that develop even further as they build on their presence here.”

Exeter Science Park recently invested £350,000 for the refurbishment of its Ada Lovelace building, which boasts an A+ energy performance rating and is BREEAM excellent. The building has undergone the improvement works following the departure of the Environment Agency (EA) from the Park.

In addition, East Devon District Council relaunched its Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone (EEDEZ) at the park in September 2023.