United Kingdom: Venture Capital

Sam Tidswell-Norrish, Partner at Access Holdings, shares his journey from founding team member at Motive Partners to leading fundraising and investor relations across London, Baltimore and New York. With extensive experience in alternative investments and financial technology, he discusses building strong investor relationships, supporting portfolio growth, and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people rather than treating your career as a single player game.

The latest Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2026 reveals significant progress in funding access for female entrepreneurs, with signatories directing 32% of venture capital to teams with at least one female founder—more than double the wider market rate. While women-led businesses now achieve equal loan approval rates to male-led businesses, they still apply less frequently and request smaller amounts, highlighting persistent gaps in funding confidence and scale.

The UK's first-time equity investment market has experienced a significant resurgence in 2025 and H1 2026, with more companies securing external funding than at any point in the last four years.

Whether a business is preparing for a seed round, Series A fundraising, growth investment or a strategic partnership, investors will typically undertake some form of intellectual property (IP) due diligence before committing capital.

Dame Anne Glover's message at Travers Smith's Alternative Insights Summit was clear: UK pension funds should significantly increase their investment in early-stage venture and growth capital. With UK and Irish pension funds investing a mere 0.001% of assets under management in European venture capital in 2024, pension savers are missing substantial returns from high-growth technology businesses.

Andy Burnham's vision for 'Number 10 North' aims to devolve power and drive regional economic growth across the UK, but where will the investment come from? Guernsey's funds sector has quietly been channeling billions in international capital directly into UK regions for years, backing infrastructure, innovation, and defense projects from Manchester to Durham. With £58 billion already invested and growing at 7% annually, this established conduit may hold part of the answer to Britain's regional investm

As we approach the end of the 2025/26 tax year, now is the ideal time to review your personal tax position and assess whether you are making full use of the reliefs and allowances available.

This article explains the legal and commercial differences between debt and equity financing for business owners in the United Kingdom.

This article explains equity crowdfunding for business owners in the United Kingdom.