Two recent developments caught our attention last week: Parkwalk and Beauhurst’s Report on investment trends for UK spinouts in 2025, and the British Business Bank’s £250m investment into scaleups.

In a year where many sectors treaded cautiously, university spinouts surged ahead. Beauhurst’s latest report reveals that equity investment into UK spinouts hit £3.35 billion, up 40% from 2023, with biotech, AI, and quantum technologies leading the charge. Flagship deals like Autolus (£436m) and Bicycle Therapeutics (£435m) show that UK science is not just inventive, it’s investable. Parkwalk call for continued efforts to attract capital to support spinouts to realise the UK’s potential.

Adding fuel to the fire, the British Business Bank invested £250 million in 33 tech and life sciences scaleups, over half of which are university spinouts.

These companies have collectively raised over £2 billion, and the Bank has now lifted its investment ceiling from £15m to £60m per company, an unprecedented move to support scaleup businesses further into their development.

The resurgence of scaleup capital is genuinely encouraging and it’s especially positive to see it flowing toward university spinouts. There’s unanimous recognition that the UK’s global edge in innovation stems largely from the strength of its universities, so it makes complete sense that capital should stay close to these institutions and help capture and scale their output.

But capital alone won’t deliver impact. As innovation speeds up, the need for appropriate, immediately available infrastructure becomes critical.

Without it, companies risk burning precious funding on workspace fit-outs in isolated locations, far from clusters and support. Sciopolis is designed to prevent that.

We’re building spaces that are:

• Linked to universities, enabling proximity to talent and research

• Conveniently located in emerging, well connected innovation districts like One Portal Way

• Affordable and ready to move in, so companies can scale without delay

We’re committed to ensuring that spinouts and scaleups have the physical platforms they need to deploy innovation quickly, sustainably and in the right environment.

Sciopolis will soon open its first site in London

Whether you're a spinout looking for your first lab or a scaleup ready to grow, in sectors spanning Technology, AI, Life Sciences, Cleantech - Sciopolis offer ready-to-occupy lab and office spaces, strategic business connections and curated support services, designed to help you thrive.

We work in close partnership with universities and, in addition to providing inspiring and cost effective workspaces, we connect our tenants to the academic expertise, specialist equipment and collaborative opportunities that can help science and tech ventures move from idea to impact.

📍 Coming soon: One Portal Way, North Acton

Developed in partnership with Imperial College London, our newest site – opening in June 2026- will offer flexible space and tailored support for ambitious ventures in the heart of WestTech London.

Find out more about OnePortalWay here