Tech South West & Great South West embark on UK Investment Spotlight Drive

Investment showcase activity in London, Leeds and South West in three-month blitz backed by new accelerator programmes and High Growth Tracker

Tech South West (TSW) is embarking on a three-month investment drive for the region, showcasing standout opportunities at high growth companies and major innovation infrastructure projects.

Today, the regional tech cluster has announced a regional showcase to take place in London, during London Tech Week in June. It has also announced support for the new Somerset Ignite Investment Summit, also in June, which will set out a host of investment and supply chain opportunities including the new Agratas EV gigafactory in Bridgwater. The UK’s first EV factory has just received a £380m investment boost from the Government. 

Tech South West is also teaming up with Great South West, heading to the UK’s major infrastructure and property investment summit, UKREiiF in Leeds in May. The Great South West Pavilion will be busy spotlighting maritime infrastructure, the electric battery supply chain and other investment opportunities across sectors including defence and cleantech, as well as key innovation hubs such as Exeter Science Park and Bournemouth’s new Talbot Innovation Village venture.

The co-ordinated activity follows Tech South West’s own Investment Summit, which saw investors and founders gather at Sandy Park in Exeter in March, including the Ministry of Defence, Babcock International, Inductive Power Projection, Nautexe, Voxmar and Latent Drive, for pitches, talks and panel discussions focusing on the region’s defence sector opportunities.

And, as part of Tech South West’s investment drive, new accelerator programmes have been launched, including cleantech, healthtech and a UK-wide marine autonomy accelerator, in partnership with Babcock International and the University of Plymouth. Companies from as far as Scotland and Newcastle have already applied.

Dan Pritchard, founder of Tech South West, said: "We are at a pivotal moment for the UK economy which is wholly relevant to our region. Geopolitical shifts, the global energy transition, and the accelerating convergence of defence, marine, and clean technology have reshaped industrial priorities, putting the South West at the heart of the UK’s growth opportunity for the next decade.

“We have a genuinely world-class concentration of capability in defence and dual-use technology, marine autonomy, drone technology, cleantech, EV battery tech, critical minerals and agri-food innovation. Over the coming weeks we’ll be taking that message far and wide.”

Tech South West will be using the Great South West’s High Growth Tracker to spotlight investment opportunities across key economic sectors, including at its London showcase on Tuesday June 9.

The data-led tool has identified 100 of the region's highest growth potential companies including Ethical Power, Spark Technology Services, SupaCat, HQW Aerospace and Plessey Semiconductors. Combined, the 100 businesses hold around £4bn in assets, with 65 per cent forecast to achieve at least 20 per cent growth over the next 12 months — a performance profile stronger than the UK average.

Karl Tucker, Chair of the Great South West Partnership, said: "The Great South West is home to a concentration of high-performing, high-potential businesses. These are companies already delivering for the UK economy, in clean energy, defence, advanced manufacturing and beyond. With the right support, they can go even further. Aligning investment, innovation, and business support, across programmes like the TSW Growth Forge Accelerator, targeting investors at UKREiiF and the TSW London Showcase, will help shine a light on the opportunities to unlock long-term growth for the region and the country."

On the eve of London Tech Week, Great South West will be hosting a roundtable event, bringing together key players including regionally focused pension funds, to discuss the investment opportunities within the region.

Tech South West has aligned much of its work with the Government’s Industrial Strategy priority technologies including AI, quantum and cyber. Two-thirds of the companies listed in the High Growth Tracker are in the eight priority sectors in the strategy –  clean energy, defence, advanced manufacturing, digital, and food production, all in a regional economy already generating in excess of £95bn GVA annually.

Ben Cooper, Director and Funding and Finance Programme Lead at Tech South West, said: "This High Growth Tracker is exactly the kind of data-led tool the region needs — spotlighting the companies with the biggest scaling potential and helping us focus capital, connections and support where it will have the greatest impact. With 100 companies it’s a powerful way to align investors and partners around the region's highest-potential firms."

Information on Tech South West’s investment activity is available at techsouthwest.co.uk. The High Growth Tracker and details on GSW at UKREiiF can be found at greatsouthwest.co.uk.