Investment in university spinouts reached record £3.35bn in 2024, report says
Investment in UK university spinouts reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with a record £3.35bn raised, according to a new report.
A new report published by university spinouts investor, Parkwalk, and analytics firm, Beauhurst, has revealed that investment into university spinouts lifted 44.3 per cent on 2023.
University spinouts are companies created to commercialise intellectual property and research generated at a university. Yorkshire is home to a number of such firms including the University of Sheffield’s DigitalCNC and MicroLub, a spinout from the University of Leeds.
The new report shows that equity investment in spinouts has significantly recovered from the dip seen in 2023.
The average value of equity raised rose from £4.96m in 2023 to £7.49m in 2024, reflecting stronger investor appetite and a willingness to back companies with potential for global scale.
Moray Wright, CEO of Parkwalk, said: “Spinouts are the future of this economy. It is where the UK has real comparative strength – capitalising on our world-leading research base.
“The companies raising record sums of investment in 2024 are tackling the biggest challenges of our time - from climate change to AI and healthcare.
“With the right policy environment, we can ensure that the UK fully leverages its potential in frontier innovation.”
The report found that sectoral activity was once again led by Life Sciences, particularly in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and clinical research with 182 deals from the second half of 2024 to the first half of 2025.
Deeptech also performed strongly, with AI and data infrastructure among the most active sub-sectors, leading to 152 deals during the period.
The South East, London and East of England remain the main centres for spinout investment, responsible for 77.9 per cent of total investment since 2015.
However, the report highlights growing momentum across the UK with Manchester-based spinouts securing a record £56m in 2024, and universities in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Leeds becoming increasingly active.
In June 2025, Parkwalk and North Gritstone launched the Northern Universities Venture Fund to provide greater access to investment for spinouts from the Northern Arc Universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield – aiming to create a more balanced funding landscape across the UK.
Foreign investment remains a key contributor to UK spinout activity, with US-based funds participating in 113 deals in 2024.
Five of the eight largest transactions last year involved foreign investors.