Stephen Welton
Stephen Welton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephen Frank Welton 9 February 1961 |
| Education | University of Durham |
| Occupation | Businessperson |
| Known for | Founder, CEO, Chairman of the Business Growth Fund |
Stephen Frank Welton CBE (9 February 1961) is a British business executive who is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Business Growth Fund (BGF).[1][2][3][4]
Early life and education
Welton was born in South Africa. He and his family moved back to the UK when he was 11 years old.[5]
Welton attended Esher College. He graduated with a law degree from Durham University in 1983.[6] He initially trained as a barrister, before becoming a loan officer at the Bank of Boston.[1][5]
Career
Welton was one of the founding partners of private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, JP Morgan's private equity arm.[1][7][8]
He was prior to that managing director of Barclays Private Equity and co-founded Henderson Ventures.[7][8]
Welton is the founder and first chief executive of BGF; a major investment company set up in 2011 by five UK banks – HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, RBS and Standard Chartered – after the 2008 financial crisis.[1][9][10]
By 2023, BGF had invested over £4 billion in more than 400 growth companies across the UK and Ireland. Welton became the investor's Executive Chairman in 2020 before stepping down in June 2023.[11]
In 2021, Welton joined the Build Back Better Council, a Government business council launched by Boris Johnson to address the UK’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.[12][13][14]
Recognition
Welton was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to small businesses and entrepreneurship.[15]
Personal life
Welton is married, with three children.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Peter. "BGF's Stephen Welton, the constant gardener of budding Bransons". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ Tyler, Richard (2024-02-22). "Inside the plan to unlock trillions to scale up small businesses". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Tyler, Richard. "Stephen Welton: 'We want to see firms thrive, not just survive'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ "From survive to thrive - Funding the growth economy to kickstart an investment-led recovery" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-11-01.
- ^ a b Lynch, Russell (2016-07-15). "Stephen Welton: The Business Growth hoping for magic with small firms". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ "Faculty of Law". Durham University Gazette. XXVII: 56. 1983. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Bloomberg profile - Stephen Welton". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ a b "Stephen Welton". Speakers for Schools. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ "Investor plans £15bn support for UK companies toiling with crisis loans". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ Smith, Oliver. "How A £2.5 Billion British Startup Fund Became The Most Prolific Growth Investor In The World". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ "Stephen Welton". BGF. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ "Prime Minister and Chancellor launch new Business Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- ^ inkedin.com/pulse/good-growth-blog-we-finally-cusp-pensions-revolution-welton-cbe%3FtrackingId=dun0paBjJnwv4yY%252FDPvQAA%253D%253D/?trackingId=dun0paBjJnwv4yY%2FDPvQAA%3D%3D
- ^ "Discover thousands of collaborative articles on 2500+ skills". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B10.