The firm is on track to invest more than £370 million this year, compared to £250 million in 2015.

More than 150 small and mid-sized companies have taken BGF funding since October 2011, including Gymbox, Cass Art, Better Bathrooms, Unruly Media, M Squared Lasers, UKCloud, Trunki and Dudson.

More than £700 million of the £1 billion has been invested outside of London and the South East. This has included £186 million in the Midlands, £150 million in the South West, £215 million in the North and £127 million in Scotland.

Nationally, BGF invested more than £100 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared to £60 million in the same quarter last year. According to Beauhurst, BGF was the top institutional investor in the three months following the EU Referendum by number of deals completed, against a backdrop of an overall slowdown in investment activity.

Collectively, the businesses backed by BGF employ 25,000 people nationwide – a number which would make it the UK’s eighth largest private business employer.

Stephen Welton, BGF CEO said: “BGF has established itself as the leading provider of long-term capital in the UK. We are proud to have invested in more than 155 great companies nationwide – and we know that we have only just scratched the surface.

“While growing businesses will be affected in different ways and to varying degrees during the Brexit negotiations and beyond, our long-term approach means that we have no intention of slowing down our new activity or support for the companies we back. Next year is set to be an even bigger one for BGF and I am as excited now as I was in 2011 about the future of BGF, the businesses we support and the UK’s entrepreneurial climate.”

BGF makes long-term investments in small to mid-sized businesses in return for a minority stake. The companies it backs are privately-owned or listed on AIM, and typically have revenues of between £5 million and £100 million.