Science Minister Lord Vallance urges pension schemes to make investments extra in world class UK firms as new innovation cluster map outlines areas of excellent analysis and commerce.
- Pension schemes and enterprise capital are ‘underexposed’ and will make investments extra in world class UK science and tech firms
- The UK has deep swimming pools of institutional capital, but solely a small fraction reaches our most promising progress corporations, says Science Minister Lord Vallance at BVCA occasion
- To help pension firms to make investments with readability, authorities unveils innovation cluster map, outlining pockets of excellent analysis and commerce throughout totally different components of the UK – serving to to boost progress and jobs via our Plan for Change
Pensions firms ought to capitalise on the monumental alternative to boost non-public investment into UK science and know-how, Science Minister Lord Vallance yesterday advised an viewers of high buyers, as half of a speech at the British Venture Capital Association’s (BVCA) non-public capital showcase.
The Minister acknowledged that the UK has lengthy been famend for excellence in analysis and incubating corporations at the very cutting-edge of the most essential fields of our technology, together with life sciences, AI and quantum know-how – however many promising UK corporations have been held again from scaling to their full potential due to a scarcity of obtainable capital.
While $16 billion has been invested into UK start-ups and scale-ups final 12 months, and greater than $8 billion raised in the first half of 2025, exceeding France and Germany mixed, the authorities desires to go additional and sooner to boost progress via its Plan for Change.
Taking Cambridge-founded Arm as a flagship instance of British innovation that scales globally, he referred to as on non-public pensions buyers to work with VCs and different property managers to again our subsequent technology of excessive progress corporations. This would ship long-term returns for buyers, whereas preserving extra of the worth and jobs created by these corporations in the UK.
Science Minister Lord Vallance yesterday mentioned:
There are far too many UK corporations working at the cutting-edge of rising applied sciences, like AI, biotechnology and quantum to which UK buyers are underexposed.
Through our Industrial Strategy, we’re constructing an surroundings the place public funding, streamlined regulation and partnerships with business are channelling investment into science and know-how.
Encouraging higher flows of capital into the sector is one other piece of the puzzle, supporting corporations to develop and jobs to be created.
To assist help buyers to higher establish the corporations, sectors and areas of the UK to goal for investment, the Minister additionally yesterday unveiled a new and improved Innovation Clusters Map.
This map identifies areas and areas the place networks of companies and analysis establishments are benefitting from shut proximity to each other, boosting the results of analysis, growth, and innovation. This means buyers know the place to hunt down experience and crucially how to make the most of the abilities that exist round the nation – supporting regional progress and creating high quality jobs in locations the place they’re most wanted.
It will embrace detailed data on a variety of sectors, aligned with the authorities’s Industrial Strategy, together with:
- superior manufacturing
- artistic
- digital and tech
- monetary providers
- skilled and enterprise providers
- life sciences
Clusters ripe for investment that includes as half of the map embrace the north west of England, the place life sciences corporations are creating new medication to combat most cancers and irritation and vaccines to defend in opposition to bacterium behind illnesses like pneumonia and sepsis. Meanwhile the Glasgow metropolis area, often known as ‘satellite city’, is constructing the satellites that assist to underpin trendy know-how, preserving Britons related.
The instrument permits potential buyers, business, analysis establishments and authorities to perceive native innovation ecosystems and establish progress and investment alternatives.
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