Sunak’s Rescue Fund Leaves UK Taxpayers Facing £300 Million Bill
- Future Fund loses quarter of value, government estimate shows
- Losses were estimated in March, likely to be even larger now
The fund was originally given £250 million of taxpayer money and later expanded to a total of £1.14 billion was handed to a group of 1,191 companies.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/BloombergThe UK government has lost close to £300 million ($379 million) on the £1.14 billion portfolio of start-up investments it made during the pandemic to prop up struggling young businesses.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accounts show the Future Fund, a lifeboat for start-ups that the Treasury described in 2020 as “the brainchild of Rishi Sunak,” the prime minister, had lost £289 million on a fair value basis by the end of March this year.