BSF Enterprise sets out £15 million funding plan to accelerate lab-grown leather, corneal repair, and cultivated meat work

Newcastle-based BSF Enterprise outlined plans to raise £15 million (US$19.3 million) as the company prepared for the next phase of growth across its tissue engineering ventures, including lab-grown leather, cultivated meat, corneal repair, and cell culture media. The proposed financing would be arranged with Blackstone Mercantile Group and was described by the company as a pivotal step in bringing its technologies closer to commercial adoption.

In announcing the move, BSF said the raise would give it the capital needed to speed up development within its three core subsidiaries: its lab-grown leather unit, which is preparing to showcase its first product next year; Kerato, the company’s corneal repair business; and 3D Bio-Tissues, which works on applications for the food sector. The firm said the investment would also help widen its commercial partnerships, reinforce its intellectual property portfolio, and support recruitment across scientific, commercial, and operational roles.

Around £500,000 (US$644,000) of the funding is earmarked for Kerato, alongside a Canadian government grant that will be used to advance upcoming scientific trials. Additional funding will go to 3D Bio-Tissues for its ongoing research and development in cellular agriculture.

BSF said it was in active conversations with potential partners and viewed acquisitions and joint ventures as important to its wider growth strategy, noting that it wants to expand its footprint in areas closely linked to its core technologies.

CEO Che Connon said the planned investment represented an important opportunity for each of the company’s subsidiaries. “We are hugely excited by the potential Blackstone Mercantile Group’s investment provides to BSF’s subsidiary companies. The funds will accelerate the commercial and technological roadmaps of LGL, Kerato and 3DBT and will support their further independent fundraising activities during 2026,” he said.

Connon added that the raise would support BSF’s broader ambitions, including the possibility of future acquisitions. “In addition, they provide the resources to allow BSF to deliver against its strategic goals to acquire, invest in, or enter joint ventures with promising complementary companies to expedite their development and time-to-market. We look to the future with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.”

According to a regulatory announcement, the company hopes to raise £5 million (US$6.4 million) through prepaid warrants and up to £10 million (US$12.9 million) in cash warrants. BSF has also asked shareholders to approve a 12:1 share consolidation as part of the plan.

Chairman Geoff Baker said the raise would have a significant impact on the company’s long-term trajectory. “The investment is expected to prove transformative to the strategic development of BSF. It will provide the capital required to accelerate the commercialisation of our subsidiary companies’ core cutting-edge technologies in lab-grown leather, cultivated meat and corneal repair. At the same time, it will support the subsidiaries’ independent, non-dilutive, fundraising activities during 2026,” he said.

Baker added that the raise would strengthen several areas of the business. “At a group level funds will also be used to bolster our marketing activities; provide the firepower to make potential acquisitions of companies complementary to our business model; cover our foreseeable working capital requirements; and will add considerable liquidity to our stock. We look forward to this next chapter of the company’s development and to fulfilling our commercial and technological roadmap.”

The proposed funding package marked one of BSF Enterprise’s most substantial growth initiatives to date, reflecting its ambition to scale multiple platforms in parallel as demand increases for cell-derived materials and next-generation biomedical solutions.