From pilot to scale: Mapping investment in professional and business services technology

Professional and business services is one of the eight growth driving sectors at the heart of the UK’s Industrial Strategy. The sector has significant potential to drive productivity, investment and economic growth through the development and adoption of new technologies. The publication also supports the ambitions of the recently published UKRI Strategy 2026 to 2031, which places a strong emphasis on helping innovative companies start, scale and stay in the UK.

The report finds that more than 2,000 technology firms operate across legal, accountancy and consulting markets. However, only around 15 to 20% have secured external investment, significantly below the proportion seen in adjacent sectors such as FinTech (financial technologies) and RegTech (regulatory technologies).

While investors are relatively active at the earliest stages of business development, access to capital becomes more difficult as firms move from pilot projects towards wider commercial deployment. For many B2B technology businesses operating in professional and business services, progress is demonstrated through repeat use and integration into everyday professional workflows before it is reflected in rapid revenue growth. Conventional investment models do not always fully recognise these indicators.

The report identifies opportunities for investors, founders, public bodies and support organisations to strengthen the pathway from pilot to scale. These include recognising a broader range of evidence when assessing business maturity, creating clearer routes from pilots to reference customers and connecting innovative firms more effectively with professional buyers and investors.

Published alongside the report, the new online directory enables founders and growing businesses to explore investors active in the space across the UK.

Following the success of our Professional and Business Services Investor Forum, I was keen to turn the conversations into something practical for businesses. The report provides a clear picture of where capital is flowing and where gaps remain, while the new directory identifies more than 100 investors that have already invested in the sector. I hope founders will find these resources useful in identifying relevant sources of capital and navigating the journey from successful pilots to scale.

– Astrid Ayel, Article author and AI for Services Lead at Innovate UK Business Connect

Please note that the online PBS investor directory is an information resource only, that provides a listing of investors that have previously invested in the sector. This directory is separate from Innovate UK’s Investor Partnerships programme which manages other investor directories. To find out more about Investor Partnerships and current opportunities, please visit the Investor Partnerships programme page.