聚焦分拆企业2026

Spotlight on Spinouts 3.1Top sectors for UK spinouts as a percentage of UK VC-backeddeep tech3.2Spinouts as part of the UK deep tech ecosystem3.3Main sectors for UK university spinouts Foreword Dr Manjari Chandran-RameshCommittee Member, Royal Academy of Past editions of Spotlight on Spinouts have establisheda robust evidence base on the UK spinout economy,bringing much-needed transparency to an area thatlacked it when this initiative began in 2021. With that was published and we continue to track theimplementation of its recommendations. However,implementation alone is not enough to address the fullrange of challenges facing UK spinouts. So, part three performance across the Industrial Strategy’s eightgrowth driving sectors (IS-8) and a comparison informed decision-making across the sector whichare principles that have underpinned Spotlight on The quantitative analysis also reveals an importantnuance in how equity stakes have been understood.The report unpicks outcomes for cases where spinoutssecured external investment before equity allocations The University Spinout Investment Terms (USIT)guides2, published in 2023, have also driven tangiblechange. The average university equity stake hasfallen to historic low of 16%, alongside a decrease in This focus reflects the mission of the Academy’sEnterprise Hub to identify and support talentedentrepreneurs to drive meaningful innovation in theUK. Since its launch in 2013, the Hub has awarded £16 UK spinouts are central to translating frontierresearch into commercial impact, with a directrole in addressing some of society’s most pressingchallenges. Over the past six years, the innovation At the same time, attention remains on how to helpthese companies succeed with continued investment The report addresses another important step inspinout company formation – the division of equitybetween founders. This is crucial in shaping roles,incentives and team dynamics, yet it is an area where Crucially, the Academy takes no stake in thecompanies it supports. That independence,combined with robust data and direct experienceof how spinouts are formed, underpins Spotlight onSpinouts. Strengthening this evidence base enables This year’s report, produced by the Royal Academy ofEngineering and powered by data from Dealroom, A major step forward has been the publication of theHigher Education Statistical Agency’s (HESA) Spinout Part one maintains our commitment to providing ananalysis of the trends in IP and commercialisation inthe UK, whilst also assessing the value created by UK The final part of the report turns to system-level progress. It is now over two years since the Executive summary Part 01 Midlands are also prominent in the top 20 with theUniversity of Nottingham placing 11th with 25 VC-backed spinouts. Queen’s University Belfast is the top-ranked university from Northern Ireland placing 18th Spinout growth across the UK UK Spinout activity is becoming increasinglygeographically diverse, with strong growth beyondthe Golden Triangle and a broad range of universitiesgenerating significant value.3Bristol stands out asthe highest-ranked institution outside of the GoldenTriangle with 46 VC-backed spinouts, 15 of which have A leader for spinout value creation in Europe The UK spinoutlandscape – a The UK leads for spinout value creation in Europe,performing strongly both overall and at theinstitutional level. While Switzerland leads on a per-capita basis, the UK remains ahead of countries such Strong performers elsewhere demonstrate the depthof the UK’s innovation landscape. For example, theUniversity of Dundee ranked 6th and as the topuniversity in Scotland, owing in large part to the Strong value creation despite 2025 slowdown In 2025, UK spinouts secured £1.3 billion in VC funding,the lowest since 2021 (£2.7 billion). Despite this thelandscape was anchored by large deals in sectors such two of Europe’s six $1 billion+ exits from UK universityOxford with both OrganOx and Oxford Ionics. IPOshowever showed an overall slowdown following strong at least one female founder, an increase from 7%in the period between 2010-2014 but this is broadly UK spinout distribution andleading universities 2025 marked the highest share of funding raised andthe number of rounds, 21% and 14% respectively, forUK spinouts with at least one female founder raising£281 million and this was driven by companies such as The UK has been on a trajectory of overall growthwith more than 2000 spinouts having emergedsince 2010 with a value of £49 billion, showing a clearacceleration in value creation from 2015 onwards. 1.1 VC-backed spinouts in the UK since 2010 Spinout activity is becoming more equally distributedacross the UK, with strong growth outside the “GoldenTriangle” of the Cambridge-Oxford-London universities.This nationwide expansion underscores the breadth Continued decline in university equity stakes The average equity stake used to be 25-30% in the2015-2019 pe