UK pension funds scope out £1bn science and tech fund
A consortium of UK pension providers have committed to exploring a new investment vehicle dedicated to scaling UK businesses, with over £1bn potentially available for high-growth British science and technology companies.
The pension funds – including Nest, Railpen, LPPI and LGPS Central (which manages the pooled assets of 14 local government pension schemes) – are being supported by the government’s Office for Investment and the British Business Bank, which is said to be intending to invest alongside the group.
A market engagement process to explore the appointment of a manager for the proposed vehicle is set to commence “shortly”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is quoted as saying that the new fund “would help unlock good growth in every postcode, connecting pension investment with the entrepreneurs and technologies that will reindustrialise Britain and create the jobs of the future.” His comments have been welcomed by the National Centre for Universities and Business – chief executive Joe Marshall has said that “enabling innovative companies to start, scale and remain in the UK is fundamental to reindustrialising the country,” and that the impact could be particularly significant in places that have lost major employers and historic industries.
Elsewhere this week the Council for Science and Technology has published an evidence pack on the UK’s current start-up and venture capital landscape, which was produced by data platform Dealroom on a commission from the council and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The report finds that venture capital in the UK is “on the rise”, having in 2025 recorded the third year with more than $23bn raised. Late stage ($100m+) investment is performing particularly strongly compared to a decade ago.
But the report cautions that investment is “very concentrated in London” – start-ups in the capital accounted for three-quarters of all venture capital in 2025. And the year also saw the lowest proportion of domestic start-up funding in the last decade, at only 25 per cent – Dealroom observes that over-reliance on international investment “creates risks for the UK companies such as overseas relocation and susceptibility to international shocks.”
It is in this context that the government has heralded the move by domestic pensions funds to increase their investment in innovative UK businesses, following in the footsteps of the Mansion House Accord.
The report from Dealroom forms part of a wider set of resources compiled by Council for Science and Technology on increasing investment in science and technology companies, dating back to the previous government.