Silicon Valley Bank has just opened its banking and loans services to the UK tech industry. The US hi-tech bank hopes that its considerable capital will help to stimulate the technology industry on the other side of the Atlantic.
The news has been warmly welcomed by George Osborne, the Chancellor, who said that the arrival of the bank is tangible proof that "the UK is fast becoming the technology centre of Europe". The bank, for its part, has stated that it has specific sectors that it will look to support in the UK, including life science, private equity and venture capital.
Speaking to the BBC, Phil Cox, head of UK, Israel and India division of the Silicon Valley Bank, said: "We've already lent hundreds of millions in the UK but we're looking to increase this to billions very quickly."
It has been confirmed that the bank will be making loans between £300,000 and £30 million, and will be deliberately targeting firms that are seeking to expand. The bank is determined to further credentials of supporting technology firms in the US, Mr Cox said, adding: "We are excited to be able to help the UK's entrepreneurs meet and exceed their ambitious goals."
The bank already has an impressive list of clients in the US, including Cisco Systems, Mozilla and Pinterest. There are also some top level investors, such as NEA, Sequoia Capital and Silver Lake. It has, in fact, already made loan payments worth as much as $7 billion, a figure that could rise significantly over the next few months.
Julie Meyer, the Managing Partner of the ACE Fund, a digital seed fund, hailed the news and suggested that it is a reflections of the UK's expanding influence in the technology sector.
"What an endorsement of the UK tech scene this is - that an important institution such as Silicon Valley Bank - the beating heart of the Valley - has come to the UK to bank its entrepreneurs," Ms Meyer said.
"This should cause the other UK retail banks to work a little harder or think more constructively about how to bank the UK's best high-growth tech firms."
