Investment
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s competitiveness for attracting growth-stage investment.
Answered by Treasury
The UK benefits from the third largest VC market in the world, after the US and China. However, the British Business Bank’s 2026 Small Business Equity Report shows that when adjusted for GDP, US businesses raised 35% more late-stage investment than UK businesses between 2023-2025.
To address this, at Spending Review 2025 we uplifted the British Business Bank’s total financial capital by two thirds to £25.6bn, and the Bank has committed to supporting ten new-to-market growth-stage funds this parliament. At Budget 2025 we also increased the generosity of our enterprise tax reliefs, to support investment into growing companies and better enable them to attract top talent.
Following her initial appointment in June 2025, Alex Depledge will continue to provide expert and strategic advice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other HM Treasury Ministers, in collaboration with other senior civil servants and advisers, on the government’s entrepreneurship landscape and the key barriers faced by businesses seeking to scale up in the UK.
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