- Pension schemes and venture capital are ‘underexposed' and
should invest more in world class UK science and tech firms
- The UK has deep pools of institutional capital, yet only a
small fraction reaches our most promising growth companies, says
Science Minister at BVCA event
- To support pension firms to invest with clarity, government
unveils innovation cluster map, outlining pockets of outstanding
research and commerce across different parts of the UK – helping
to boost growth and jobs through our Plan for Change
Pensions firms should capitalise on the enormous opportunity to
boost private investment into UK science and technology, Science
Minister will tell an audience of top
investors later today (Thursday 2 October), as part of a speech
at the British Venture Capital Association's (BVCA) private
capital showcase.
The Minister will acknowledge that the UK has long been renowned
for excellence in research and incubating companies at the very
cutting-edge of the most important fields of our generation,
including life sciences, AI and quantum technology –
but many promising UK companies have been held back from scaling
to their full potential due to a lack of available capital.
While $16 billion has been invested into UK start-ups and
scale-ups last year, and more than $8 billion raised in the first
half of 2025, exceeding France and Germany combined, the
government wants to go further and faster to boost growth through
its Plan for Change.
Taking Cambridge-founded Arm as a flagship example of British
innovation that scales globally, he will call on private pensions
investors to work with VCs and other assets managers to
back our next generation of high growth companies. This would
deliver long-term returns for investors, while keeping more of
the value and jobs created by those companies in the UK.
Science Minister said:
There are far too many UK companies operating at the cutting-edge
of emerging technologies, like AI, biotechnology and quantum to
which UK investors are underexposed.
Through our Industrial Strategy, we are building an environment
where public funding, streamlined regulation and partnerships
with industry are channelling investment into science and
technology.
Encouraging greater flows of capital into the sector is
another piece of the puzzle, supporting companies to grow and
jobs to be created.
To help support investors to better identify the companies,
sectors and regions of the UK to target for investment, the
Minister has today also unveiled a new and improved
Innovation Clusters Map.
This map identifies areas and regions where networks of
businesses and research institutions are benefitting from close
proximity to one another, boosting the effects of research,
development, and innovation. This means investors know where to
seek out expertise and crucially how to make the most of the
skills that exist around the country – supporting regional growth
and creating quality jobs in places where they are most needed.
It will include detailed information on a range of sectors,
aligned with the government's Industrial Strategy,
including:
- advanced manufacturing
- creative
- digital and tech
- financial services
- professional and business services
- life sciences
Clusters ripe for investment featuring as part of the map include
the north west of England, where life sciences companies are
developing new drugs to fight cancer and inflammation and
vaccines to protect against bacterium behind diseases like
pneumonia and sepsis. Meanwhile the Glasgow city region, also
known as ‘satellite city', is building the satellites that help
to underpin modern technology, keeping Britons connected.
The tool allows potential investors, industry, research
institutions and government to understand local innovation
ecosystems and identify growth and investment opportunities.
