South West Outpaces the UK as £4bn Investment Case Takes Centre Stage

The South West of England recorded its strongest equity investment performance in years in Q1 2026, nearly double the national growth rate, as Tech South West brought the region’s high-growth story to London.

Held during London Tech Week, the annual Tech South West London Showcase saw record numbers of investment funds attend, meeting companies from across the region.

According to the latest insight from Beauhurst, deal volumes in the region rose 11% in the first quarter of 2026 and total investment value surged 66% on the same period last year, well ahead of the 34% national value growth recorded across the UK as a whole. 

Tech South West has also just launched its latest quarterly report – The Lowdown SW Investment Briefing. Themed Sovereignty and Opportunity in a Fractured World. The report features news and insight from investors, policymakers, founders and industry leaders, with a deep dive into defence, clean energy, agritech and other regional powerhouse industries.

The showcase and report have been developed by the regional tech cluster as part of its Funding and Finance Programme, working with key partners Angel Investors Bristol, Bishop Fleming, Natwest, RWK Goodman and Steampunk Ventures.

Held at Howden HQ in central London, the showcase also served as the national launchpad for the Great South West High Growth Business Tracker: a data-driven identification of the 100 highest-growth-potential businesses across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Those 100 businesses hold approximately £4bn in combined assets, with 65% forecast to achieve at least 20% growth in the next twelve months and 64 directly aligned with the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy priorities.

Dan Pritchard, Founder of Tech South West, said: “Sovereignty and Opportunity in a Fractured World describes exactly what the South West represents right now: a region with the industrial depth, sovereign capability and proven companies to meet the demands of a world that has fundamentally changed.”

The South West saw more deals, and materially larger ones, continuing a trajectory from 2025 when the region recorded the steepest value growth of any major UK area, with local capital starting to back a larger share of that growth. The proportion of South West deals involving a South West-headquartered investor has risen to around 9% in Q1 2026, with the South West Investment Fund, Angel Investors Bristol and the Cornwall Angel Network continuing to deepen the region’s own funding base. 

CleanTech, advanced manufacturing and life sciences dominate the largest deals. Vertical Aerospace’s £38m round, Tungsten West’s £44m raise and Astral Systems’ £19m funding into fusion energy, reflect a region attracting capital across the UK’s modern industrial growth-driving sectors.

Four in five Q1 deals were at seed or venture stage, consistent with the UK average and highlighting the strength of the early-stage pipeline.

Ahmed Goga, Director of the Great South West Partnership, said: “The High Growth Tracker is a vital moment in the development of the region’s innovation ecosystem and sets out its central role in powering the nation’s economy. Defence, clean energy, food security, advanced manufacturing: these are the UK’s growth priorities, embedded in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, and these are where the Great South West have high growth companies in abundance.

“They now need to be backed with the capital needed to turbocharge the exciting new products and services being created which can win in key global markets for the UK. The mission now for public and private investors is to seize the opportunity and address this critical structural gap in UK regional investment.”

The showcase featured perspectives from investment and industry leaders, along with pitches spanning climatetech, healthtech and marinetech from ten South West firms: Voxmar, TDX, eclateral, GANGOAI, Mission Decisions, WASE, Nautexe Global, FinProxy, Air Aware Labs and Chilled Squirrels.

Scott Preece, Partner at RWK Goodman, said: “The South West has real momentum and the data is starting to reflect that. There is still work to do in connecting the right businesses to the right capital at the right stage — but the pipeline is stronger, the evidence base is clearer, and the region is moving in the right direction.”

The momentum continues through the summer. The ClimateTech Founders Summit takes place on 18 June at Froginwell Estate, Devon, followed by the Somerset Ignite Investment Summit on 30 June at Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, and Tech South West Digital Conference, at Firepool Centre for Digital Innovation on July 9.

Lowdown Investment Report is available at https://www.techsouthwest.co.uk/reports

The High Growth Business Tracker is available at greatsouthwest.co.uk/insights