Pension firms urged to boost investment into the UK sci-tech unicorns of the 2030s
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-01)

Science Minister Lord Vallance urges pension schemes to invest more in world class UK firms as new innovation cluster map outlines areas of outstanding research and commerce.

- 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 Lord Vallance 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 Lord Vallance 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 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/lord-vallance-speech-at-the-bvca-pensions-and-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 (https://www.gov.uk/missions).

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 Lord Vallance 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 (https://www.innovationclusters.dsit.gov.uk/).

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 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/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.

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