Invest in Innovation Partnership: boosting UK innovation and economic growth

The ‘Invest in Innovation Partnership’ is helping the UK’s most innovative companies navigate opportunities across public and private sources of funding. It also provides investors with a greater understanding of those future economy sectors with the highest potential for scale and impact.

By bringing together investment and innovation knowhow, the partnership aims to unlock more of the £6 trillion of long-term capital available in the UK in the form of pensions, insurance assets and retail investment for UK innovation and growth.

The partnership has several key components, including:

• Equipping companies for equity: The London Stock Exchange, working alongside the investment and advisory community, will assist Innovate UK-supported companies to understand the role of equity funding for growth, how to prepare for growth capital and how to access the London Stock Exchange’s markets.
• Knowledge exchange: The partnership will bring together leaders from research and technology organisations, high-potential scale-ups and large corporations with the institutional investor community to build a greater shared understanding of the opportunities in future sectors, facilities, systems and businesses.
• Net Zero: The partnership will support the UK’s Net Zero goals by helping private companies accomplish Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures. These will be aligned with global sustainability reporting standards, yet without the complexity required by public markets. It will also see the launch of an Innovate UK / London Stock Exchange series of deep dives aimed at informing the investment community on specific Net Zero technologies and opportunities.
• Innovation-focused platform: The Partnership commits to the launch of an innovator and innovation investor-focused channel on the London Stock Exchange’s Spark portal to celebrate and support capital-seeking companies and provide information on emerging technologies.

The partnership is being launched at an event attended by Science Minister George Freeman MP on Wednesday 1st March 2023, along with leaders and contributors from the innovation and investment communities.

The Invest in Innovation Partnership has the potential to transform the prospects of businesses that are developing cutting-edge solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges and to create long-lasting economic and societal impact.

To keep updated on news, events and opportunities related to this partnership, please register here.

If you have any specific questions relating to upcoming initiatives for investors and innovators, please contact: contact@innovateukedge.ukri.org

Partnership Activity will include the following:

Investment readiness forum

• A quarterly joint forum to equip growing and scaling companies* with the knowledge to navigate private and public markets and prepare for growth capital.

*Businesses on Innovate UK’s investment readiness pathway Invest-ability and Scaleup Programmes

Equipping innovation-focused businesses to scale with finance

• Launch of an innovator and innovation investor-focused channel on the London Stock Exchange’s Spark portal. The channel will engage companies and investors by celebrating successes, signposting relevant resources for accessing capital and informing on new, emerging technologies.

Supporting growing innovative companies in preparing for capital, and deepening investor understanding of innovative sectors

• Throughout the year, Innovate UK companies will have access to relevant events hosted by the London Stock Exchange.
• The Partnership will also host a senior executive level event with key Innovate UK stakeholders and the pension funds and institutional community.

Net Zero focus

• Launch of a working group to develop an environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure framework for private companies.
• LSEG to participate in ‘deep dive’ sessions aimed at educating and informing the institutional investor community on specific Net Zero technologies and opportunities.