British spinout money chases later rounds as first-time funding falls 68.3 percent
Capital for British university spinouts is moving into later rounds while first-time funding shrinks. Research by Parkwalk and Beauhurst found that spinouts raised €1.8 billion across 215 deals in the first half of 2026. Later-stage investment reached €907 million, up 165 percent year on year. First-time equity investment fell 68.3 percent, from €176 million in the first half of 2025 to €56 million.
Investors are backing what is already proven and visible: later rounds, defence technology and the Oxford and Cambridge hubs. Moray Wright, chief executive of Parkwalk, warned that the companies the British economy depends on are struggling to raise a first round. Each large cheque responds to an immediate opening, yet the pipeline behind it thins, and international buyers took 75 percent of spinout acquisitions in the first half of 2026.
Source: EU-Startups · October 22, 2026