Two new funds boosting regional momentum
The event also spotlighted two significant additions to the South West funding landscape.
A new Equity Fund for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has launched with a mandate to help scalable businesses reach their next inflection point and crowd more private investment into the region. With cheque sizes between £25k and £200k, the fund is designed to back early growth and unlock commercial acceleration.
Alongside this, Blankpage Capital — led by Ekaterina Almasque and Nigel Toon — introduced a focused investment thesis built around frontier technological shifts. Their priorities span novel AI technologies, AI-powered end-to-end platforms for the physical world, next-generation infrastructure and compute systems for the emerging AI era.
Both announcements underscored the increasing depth and diversity of capital available to founders across the South West.
Charlie Mercer: decoding a Budget that quietly centred startups
Charlie brought energy, humour and sharp policy perspective as he unpacked the recent Budget. Despite widespread commentary that it “wasn’t about business”, he argued the opposite. Reeves opened with tangible measures for startups and investment — an unusually strong signal from a new Labour Chancellor.
A milestone moment for EMI
After more than a decade without movement, the government expanded EMI thresholds. For scaling teams, this offers more headroom to retain and reward talent. For the Startup Coalition, which has campaigned on this for seven years, it marked a significant win.
Early-stage tax reliefs live to fight another day
EIS and VCT weren’t trimmed back as many feared. Instead, they were extended and expanded, sending a clear pro-investment message even if they aren’t a standalone solution to the funding gap.
A rare chance to reshape founder taxation
A new three-month consultation on “tax incentives for entrepreneurship” invites founders, angels and funds to help redesign the next iteration of Entrepreneurs’ Relief and similar mechanisms. Charlie described it as a live opportunity to influence policy design rather than respond to it.
Grants and public funding are shifting
As Innovate UK and UKRI move under a founder-chair, the structure and selection process may change. With AI tools raising the baseline of application quality, Innovate expects more “good” proposals and may lean toward interviews and in-person assessments over lengthy written submissions.
Incentives to list in London
A three-year stamp duty exemption on traded shares for newly listed UK companies aims to make the public markets more appealing. It’s a nudge rather than a full overhaul, but it signals intent to keep listings onshore.
Government as a strategic buyer
Two emerging markets received targeted support:
- Low-carbon concrete, where the government will act as an anchor buyer willing to pay a premium to close the early cost gap.
- AI inference chips, backed by £100m of advanced market commitments. The challenge now is ensuring this supports UK semiconductor players, not just established incumbents.
R&D tax credits: still messy but improving
The system remains tighter than founders would like, but an important fix is coming. Companies will soon be able to secure advance assurance that work counts as R&D before committing to full claims.
A missed chance to steer people into investing
The cut to cash ISA allowances, without a corresponding lift in Stocks & Shares ISAs, landed as a missed opportunity to nudge savers toward longer-term investment.
Regional investment deals: a mixed picture
Seven combined authorities secured £13bn, though the West of England missed out this time. Even so, the door is clearly open for major regional investment settlements — a question of when, not if.
A new AI corridor across the Bristol Channel
One of the UK’s first AI growth zones will be created between Newport and Bridgend, targeting around £10bn of investment and forming a major data and compute cluster within reach of Bristol.
Carried interest rises; exit tax scrapped
Carried interest will now be taxed as income, a shift seen as harmful to the UK’s competitiveness. Meanwhile, a proposed exit tax was dropped entirely after a rapid founder-led campaign — clear proof that coordinated advocacy still moves the dial.
Wrapping up: a snapshot of the region’s momentum
The session closed with a run-through of 21 South West companies currently raising investment — from quantum to film production, healthtech to immersive tech. Ticket sizes ranged from £15m to £40k, offering a glimpse into the breadth and ambition of innovation across the region.
Charlie left attendees with one final piece of homework: to look up the Fingleton Review, which he described as an important precedent for future sector reviews.
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