NEWS26 March 2026
Innovate UK has published its New Approach prospectus, marking a strategic shift in the organisation’s focus to support the scaling of innovative start-ups and research-led businesses in the UK.
The new prospectus concentrates on accelerating the growth of the nation’s most promising deep tech companies, aligned to the goals of the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, with the aim of helping them scale in the UK and generate new jobs and economic growth.
To deliver this vision, the prospectus also seeks to unlock more private investment opportunities, with Innovate UK stepping into a new role as a “tech due diligence engine” for the companies receiving its backing.
To explore more broadly what Innovate UK’s New Approach prospectus could mean for research and development in our region, here are our top five takeaways:
1. A clear national vision to enable innovative businesses founded on UK research to scale in the UK
For companies in Surrey, the New Approach Prospectus sets out an exciting, coherent and ambitious vision to our region’s pioneering start-ups and spinouts.
It is encouraging to see the prospectus address one of the biggest challenges in unlocking the value of UK innovation: scaling from spinout or start-up to successful SME.
According to the ScaleUp Institute, scaling companies contribute £2.19 trillion to the UK economy despite representing less than 1% of the business population, making them a strategic priority for national economic growth.
This is consistent with the findings of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change report From Startup to Scaleup (June 2025), which highlighted a range of reasons why scaling start-ups may choose to list outside the UK, making them more likely to relocate.
Within the Surrey Innovation District ecosystem, through our early-stage innovation programmes and business incubator offering, we are helping entrepreneurs to access the expertise, resources and funding opportunities they need to scale successfully.
2. An enhanced focus on deep and hard tech innovation aligned to the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy
A marked shift in the New Approach prospectus is its greater focus on supporting deep and hard tech innovation. These are technologies with the potential to significantly enhance society and deliver step changes in capability and value.
Alignment with the Modern Industrial Strategy gives a clear signal to start-ups and spinouts about the nation’s priorities and provides a strong rationale for funding entrepreneurs innovating in six nationally important areas: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, life sciences, and digital and technologies. The latter specifically covers artificial intelligence, advanced connectivity, cyber security, engineering biology, semiconductors and quantum.
With UKRI’s overall budget facing real-terms pressure in 2025-26, Innovate UK’s New Approach focuses financial and practical assistance on high-potential companies that align with the goals of the Industrial Strategy. This helps ensure Innovate UK’s expertise and funding are targeted to deliver the greatest value.
The deep and hard tech disciplines are well represented across research and innovation activity at the University of Surrey and within our wider start-up communities. Taken together, this means innovators in our community will be well placed to benefit from Innovate UK’s new prospectus.
3. Enhanced focus on the investor community
It is promising to see Innovate UK recognise the challenges entrepreneurs encounter when trying to secure private funding to develop and scale their businesses. We therefore welcome its pledge to “actively prepare both sides by building investment-ready, innovative businesses on one hand and briefing investors on what is coming through the pipeline on the other”.
The commitment to providing investors with more comprehensive due diligence could help to further mitigate the risks of investing in UK tech start-ups and unlock new private funding opportunities. In parallel, the shift towards stage-gated funding reflects a stronger focus on maximising the return on public investment, with funding increasing as businesses demonstrate progress, reduce risk and face the growing costs that come with scaling a technology company.
From our conversations with angel investors in the University of Surrey’s S100 Club, we know these are the factors that often determine whether a business is seen as a credible investment proposition or a risk too far.
4. End to end assistance from a dedicated specialist team
Over the years here in Surrey, through initiatives like the SETsquared Surrey business incubator and our vHive animal health technology incubator, we have seen the benefits and the difference that direct end-to-end help can make to start-up and spinout growth.
It is therefore encouraging to see Innovate UK introducing Velocity, an account management service designed to identify and support high-potential businesses throughout their innovation journey, from first engagement with Innovate UK through to serious capital and beyond.
This will sit alongside Innovate UK’s new Growth Sector teams and further tailored assistance for qualifying high-potential companies, recognising the individual needs and volatility of scaling a start-up or spinout.
5.High Potential Framework brings greater clarity to how Innovate UK identifies high-potential start-ups and spinouts
The introduction of the new High Potential Framework should bring greater transparency to how Innovate UK identifies the start-ups and spinouts it chooses to back most intensively.
By assessing businesses against criteria such as team capability, breakthrough nature, talent pipeline, market readiness and alignment with the UK’s Industrial Strategy priorities, the framework gives founders, business incubators and universities clarity of what high potential looks like in practice, giving them the best chance of securing backing from Innovate UK.
From our experience collaborating with angel investors in the Surrey Innovation District ecosystem, we know these are also the kinds of factors that shape whether a business is seen as a credible investment opportunity. It is therefore encouraging to see Innovate UK applying a similarly structured approach nationwide.
We look forward to seeing the full detail behind the framework and aligning the support we provide through Innovate Surrey Ltd, SETsquared Surrey, vHive and Surrey Venture Studio to help start-ups and spinouts at all stages of the business lifecycle in our region meet the criteria and access the benefits available to high potential companies.
Looking ahead…
Start-ups and spinouts in the Surrey Innovation District ecosystem have long benefited from Innovate UK’s backing. Combined with the opportunities set out in Innovate UK’s New Approach prospectus, and our region’s existing strengths including funding access; deep expertise at the University of Surrey; collaboration and networking; talent pipeline; and high-quality facilities; businesses in our region are well placed to be recognised as high-potential businesses.
Together, these advantages will help more of our ecosystem’s most promising pioneers and innovators scale successfully and strengthen the region’s legacy as the home of world-leading technology businesses.
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