Funding and finance: taking a strategic approach
Identify and secure the right funding
Securing funding and finance ranks alongside entering new markets and managing innovation effectively as a key priority for fast-growing, innovative businesses that ultimately want to scale.
If securing funding and finance is pivotal to your growth, our innovation and growth specialists can help you identify your funding needs and help you understand the capital options and alternative sources of investments. We can also help you identify regional and national connections to realise your ambitions.
Support to raise equity finance
Equity finance is often an appropriate way to unleash game-changing growth for innovation-focused companies. Our specialists are well equipped to help these businesses establish an approach to investment that realises their growth potential and supports them on their journey.
Alongside tailored one-to-one support from your innovation and growth specialist, you may also be suitable to take part in our Invest-Ability training. This highly interactive training focuses on the critical topics you need to know for venture capital fundraising. It will help you translate momentum into a clear, credible, and compelling investment proposition, aligning your strategy, narrative, and positioning with what investors look for, so you can attract growth capital with confidence. To find out more, speak to your innovation and growth specialist or scale-up director.
Post investment support
Clients who receive investment can continue receiving 1:1 post-investment support from their innovation and growth specialist or scale-up director. During this time, they could consider the next steps such as corporate finance and M&A. We have close relationships with partners such as the London Stock Exchange who can help accelerate their progress.
Furthermore, suitable clients may move on to Innovate UK Business Growth Scaleup Support.
GUIDE
Explore funding and finance options
Get a clearer view of your funding options. Discover common solutions, from grants and loans to non-equity finance. We’ll help you determine what’s right for you and how to strengthen your investment appeal.
Read SMEs funding guide
"Innovate UK has been very supportive all the way through, helping review grant material and our Series A funding round, for example ... I really value the engagement and support we’ve received."
— David Newton, Chief Operating Officer, Akrivia Health
“Innovate UK is brilliant at helping us focus on where we need to be for the next stage, what the challenges are and how to overcome those challenges”
— Neil Dickinson, co-founder and chief technology officer, Holdson
Success stories
Holdson
Innovate UK EDGE’s Invest-ability programme, alongside wraparound business growth support, has helped Holdson raise £700k to grow its additive manufacturing business.
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Akrivia Health
Akrivia Health launched its new research platform for pharmaceutical companies, a subscription platform that will enable them to run complex queries on anonymised data.
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Ablatus Therapeutics
A spin-out from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has had support from Innovate UK to pioneer a new procedure for destroying tumours without the need for invasive surgery.