The Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, has today (30 June) launched the ‘Scale Up Showcase’ at Mansion House, aimed at supercharging investment into the UK’s fast-growing tech start-ups. In partnership with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT), the event will bring together some of the country’s top scale-up tech firms with leading UK investors, including senior representatives from Lloyds Banking Group, London Stock Exchange Group, and Aviva.
The event follows with the recent launch of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy. The latter will provide greater government support to help small and medium sized British businesses to scale-up by growing their exports around the world.
The event will showcase 21 of the best high-growth technology prospects in the UK pitching to an audience of 300. They will present themselves to major UK financial service companies to help them gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities available to UK investors from supporting the scale up of high-growth potential tech businesses in the UK, especially in the light of recent moves to free up investment capital from pension schemes to support innovation. The showcase serves as a critical platform to accelerate collaboration between the UK’s burgeoning tech sector and major financial institutions, creating high-impact opportunities for growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.
The event aims to address the ‘scale up funding gap’ in the UK. The UK is currently ranked third in the world for tech start-ups and innovation (behind the US and China), however many of these start-ups are forced to move to the US to access the private financing needed to grow.
The event comes amid recent news of major companies looking to list elsewhere with fintech firm Wise heading to New York, Cobalt Holdings shelving its London IPO and Shein eyeing Hong Kong.
While the UK has a good start-up technology investment ecosystem, largely driven by tax breaks, as well as a vibrant private equity sector for later stage M&A, there is a gap in the market to support scale-up companies seeking funds of between £2m-£20m.
The event follows the launch last year of the Corporation’s first Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Strategy, a comprehensive plan aimed at ensuring the remains the premier destination in the UK for starting and growing a business.
The SME Strategy outlined several key initiatives. It aims to enhance the visibility and accessibility of support for small businesses, unlock the City’s unparalleled networks, and develop a new support offer aimed at early growth companies and underrepresented groups.
Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, says:
“The UK remains a global hub for innovation. But too often, our most promising companies are choosing to scale abroad. If we want to build a high-growth, high-opportunity economy – creating high-quality jobs – we need capital markets that back ambition.
“A key part of my ‘Growth Unleashed’ agenda is to encourage British businesses to be bolder and take more calculated risks. Initiatives like today’s showcase are key to making that happen. The UK already has all the ingredients to be a success with our world-class tech talent and top universities. Through the Showcases, we are bringing businesses and investors together to form new connections to ensure British businesses can start here, grow here, and thrive here.”
Kirsty Rutter, FinTech Investment Director at Lloyds Banking Group said:
“UK fintech is an incredibly vibrant part of the financial services sector, and our ambition is to become the best bank for FinTechs to work with. We believe that collaboration is key to delivering exceptional services for customers and enhancing our capabilities, which is why we are passionate about supporting the scale up of high-growth potential tech business in the UK.
“We continue to invest in 2025 and beyond, working with partners we believe will help us adapt to deliver even better experiences and I really can’t wait to see the innovative ideas presented at the Showcase and see how we can help.”
Ian Merricks, Founder of VenturePath, said:
UK tech companies are experiencing record low “graduation rates” from the startup to scaleup phase. The Lord Mayor, convening private and institutional investors, as well as the pension funds who back venture capital funds, is creating a smoother path to venture capital for some of the UK’s most promising future scaleups.
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. .
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