Britain's Tesco invests in venture fund to spur food innovation

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Tesco, Britain's biggest food retailer, has committed £20 million ($26.5 million) to a venture capital fund launched by Leon Restaurants co-founder Henry Dimbleby to help drive innovation across the UK food sector, it said on Thursday.

• The Bramble Fund I, established by Dimbleby, who also authored the UK government-commissioned National Food Strategy, is targeting £100 million of capital.

• The fund's first close has also attracted backing from business leaders including former Schroders CEO Peter Harrison and Adam Wells, co-founder of ingredients business Belazu.

• It will invest in companies developing products and technologies aimed at making food healthier, more sustainable and more affordable.

• Under a Tesco-Bramble partnership, promising businesses will be able to test their products and services across Tesco's supply chain, with support to scale the most successful ventures.

• Bramble's first investment is KluraLabs, a British technology company whose packaging helps keep food fresh for longer.

($1 = 0.7549 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)