State of UK First-Time Investment 2026

The UK’s market for first-time equity investment is evolving fast, and increasingly moving beyond London. In partnership with Penningtons Manches Cooper, we examine the deals, regions, and sectors shaping first-time investment over the last decade.

First-time equity investment reached £4.4bn in 2025, up 11.7% on 2024, with the number of newly funded companies rising 29.9% to its highest level since 2021. For the first time since 2022, more first-time deals were completed outside London than within it, with regions such as the West Midlands and Scotland growing faster than the capital. Sustaining this will mean these regions having access to the funding and support that let early-stage innovation scale rather than stall.

AI was the largest single contributor to the market’s growth in 2025, with its share of first-time equity value rising from 17.0% in 2024 to 32.9% in 2025.

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About our report partner

Penningtons Manches Cooper advises founders, companies and investors across the UK’s early-stage investment market, with particular experience supporting technology, life sciences and other innovation-led and IP-rich businesses. For more information, visit penningtonslaw.com.

Inside the report

State of UK First-Time Investment 2026 — sample spread

About the authors

Henry Whorwood
Managing Director
Henry leads our Beauhurst Insights team, and is an expert on equity finance and high-growth business. He's worked on briefs for the likes of Barclays, SyndicateRoom, Innovate UK, Smith & Williamson and British Business Bank. He regularly gives presentations on market trends at events around the UK.
Miraj Mistry
Senior Research Manager
Miraj handles project management and data analysis for Beauhurst Insights. His previous role was with an economic consultancy who specialise in providing socio-economic research and analysis to support infrastructure and transport projects. He holds an MSc in economics from the University of Bristol and a BSc from the University of Leeds.
Tom Sharpe
Associate
Tom performs data analysis and visualisation as well as copywriting for the team. Prior to joining Beauhurst Insights, he spent 2 years in the Data team, helping curate our dataset, with a specific focus on IPOs and Exits. Tom holds a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science from Loughborough University and enjoys consulting on mental health research.
Hannah Nicholls
Senior Designer
Hannah produces graphic design and data visualisation for the Beauhurst Insights team, and has accumulated over 11 years of experience within the design industry. In the last 4+ years, she has specialised in data visualisation and report design, focusing on creating bespoke reports for strategy and thought leadership.
Evie Luckhurst
Designer
Evangeline produces graphic design and data visualisation in the Beauhurst Insights team. Prior to joining Beauhurst, Evangeline graduated from University for the Creative Arts, where she was awarded a BA (Hons) in Illustration and Animation.