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Startup funding in the UK: the 2026 guide for founders

Editorial

By TrustList Editorial

SEIS, EIS, VCTs, R&D tax relief, Innovate UK, British Business Bank programmes, angel networks and London accelerators: how UK startup funding works in 2026.

About Startup funding in the UK: the 2026 guide for founders

Startup funding in the UK: the 2026 guide for founders

The UK offers founders a wide mix of funding: tax reliefs that make early shares more attractive to investors, a government-owned bank that backs loans and funds, and an innovation agency with grants and loans. Alongside them sit angel networks, crowdfunding platforms, accelerators and venture capital firms, many of them in London.

This guide explains how each part works and how to approach it: SEIS, EIS and Venture Capital Trusts, R&D tax relief, Innovate UK, the programmes of the British Business Bank, angel networks and crowdfunding, and London's accelerators and VC firms.

Every figure comes from the official page of the scheme or organisation concerned, listed under Sources. Limits, rates, deadlines and fund sizes change, so where a figure is likely to move we say it was correct at the time of writing (September 2026). Check the official page before you rely on it.

TrustList does not give financial, investment or tax advice. Whether your company and investors qualify for a relief depends on details this guide cannot see, so take advice from an accountant or lawyer who knows the schemes.

SEIS, EIS and VCTs: tax reliefs for your investors

These HMRC schemes give tax relief to the people who invest in your company, not to the company. Your company must qualify and keep following the rules, or your investors can lose their relief.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is for very young companies. Your company may qualify if it is less than three years old and, when the shares are issued, has gross assets of no more than £350,000 and fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees. It must be established in the UK. You can raise a maximum of £250,000 through SEIS, a limit that rose from £150,000 when the scheme was expanded in April 2023.

At the time of writing (September 2026), HMRC's guidance gives SEIS investors Income Tax relief of 50% on up to £200,000 invested a year, provided they keep their shares for at least three years. Check gov.uk for the tax year in which you raise.

You cannot use SEIS if you have already received investment through EIS or from a VCT, so if you plan to use both schemes, SEIS comes first. The money must also be spent within three years of the share issue, and the scheme rules followed for at least three years.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) covers larger rounds and older companies. Since 6 April 2026, most companies can raise up to £10 million in any 12-month period and £24 million in their lifetime. Knowledge-intensive companies can raise up to £20 million a year and £40 million in total. Some Northern Ireland companies, known as specified companies, keep lower limits of £5 million a year and £12 million in total.

To qualify, your company needs a permanent establishment in the UK and must not be listed on a recognised stock exchange, or plan to be. It needs fewer than 250 full-time equivalent employees (fewer than 500 for knowledge-intensive companies), and gross assets of no more than £30 million before the share issue and £35 million immediately after. Investment must normally come within seven years of your first commercial sale, with a ten-year window for knowledge-intensive companies.

At the time of writing (September 2026), HMRC's guidance gives EIS investors Income Tax relief of 30% on up to £1 million a year, or £2 million if at least £1 million of that goes into knowledge-intensive companies, provided they keep their shares for at least three years. The government has extended the EIS and VCT schemes to 6 April 2035.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs)

A Venture Capital Trust is a company approved by HMRC that invests in, or lends money to, unlisted companies. Individuals buy shares in the VCT, not in your company, so you do not apply to the scheme: a VCT's fund manager decides to invest in you. Since April 2026 the company limits for VCT investment match those for EIS, and no more than seven years must have passed since your first commercial sale.

For investors, the Income Tax relief was cut from 30% to 20% from April 2026. At the time of writing (September 2026), it applies to up to £200,000 a year, with a five-year holding period.

Advance assurance and the paperwork

Before you issue shares, you can ask HMRC for advance assurance that your company looks likely to qualify; for VCT money, you must name the trusts and fund managers that plan to invest.

After issuing shares, you send HMRC a compliance statement (form SEIS1 or EIS1). For EIS, you can only submit it once your qualifying business activity has run for four months. HMRC then sends a compliance certificate (SEIS3 or EIS3) for your investors to claim with.

R&D tax relief

R&D tax relief is not investment, but it can return cash to a technology company. Only companies chargeable to UK Corporation Tax can claim, and the project must seek an advance in science or technology.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, there are two routes. The merged R&D expenditure credit is given at 20%. SMEs that are loss-making and R&D-intensive, meaning relevant R&D spending is at least 30% of total spending, can instead claim enhanced R&D intensive support: an extra 86% deduction, 186% in total, and a payable credit worth up to 14.5% of the surrenderable loss. You cannot claim under both routes for the same spending.

Three practical points:

  • Tell HMRC in time. First-time claimants, and companies whose last claim was more than three years before the end of the notification period, must file a claim notification form between the first day of the period of account and six months after it ends. Miss it and the claim is invalid.
  • Know the cap. The credit is limited to £20,000 plus 300% of your relevant PAYE and National Insurance liabilities, unless you are exempt.
  • Check overseas work. HMRC's guidance says there are restrictions on claiming some expenditure incurred overseas. If a team abroad does part of your development, check how that affects your claim.

Innovate UK: grants and loans for research-heavy companies

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), provides funding, expert support and connections.

Its open Smart grants are closed for new applications. Innovate UK says its focus will be on deep and hard tech, meaning businesses built on significant scientific or engineering breakthroughs, in six of the eight Industrial Strategy priority sectors. From April 2026 it began moving to a new operating model, with an advisory "front door" to help businesses find the right support.

Grant funding now runs through competitions and sector programmes on UKRI's funding finder, each with its own rules. For example, at the time of writing (September 2026), an Engineering Biology collaborative R&D competition offered UK registered businesses a share of up to £8.5 million, closing on 3 November 2026.

Innovation Loans

Innovate UK Innovation Loans are for single UK-registered SMEs with highly innovative, late-stage R&D projects in one of six Industrial Strategy sectors. Financial services and professional and business services are out of scope, as are early research and feasibility studies. Loans run from £100,000 to £5 million, covering up to 100% of eligible project costs, over a total term of no more than seven years.

At the time of writing (September 2026), the current round charges 3.7% a year on drawn amounts, plus a further 3.7% a year of deferred interest until repayment begins, and 7.4% a year during repayment. You start with an expression of interest, which has no submission deadline.

Investor Partnerships

Innovate UK Investor Partnerships combines a grant with equity investment from selected investor partners: venture capital funds, corporate investors, business angel groups and social impact investors. You cannot apply cold: a partner must invite you, and you must also receive investment from, or led by, one or more partners. That investment must at least equal the grant for feasibility studies and industrial research, and be at least twice the grant for experimental development.

At the time of writing (September 2026), the current round, for ACT and semiconductors, has a total fund of £15 million and closes on 14 October 2026. Ask investors you are talking to whether they are partners.

British Business Bank programmes

The British Business Bank is the UK's economic development bank. It is wholly owned by government but operationally independent, and it works through more than 200 delivery partners. For most of its programmes you do not apply to the bank, but to a lender or fund manager that uses its money.

Start Up Loans

Start Up Loans are government-backed personal loans of £500 to £25,000 to start or grow a business. At the time of writing (September 2026), gov.uk gives a fixed interest rate of 7.5% a year, repaid over one to five years, with no application fee and no early repayment fee. Successful applicants also get up to 12 months of free mentoring.

You must be 18 or over, live in the UK, have, or plan to start, a UK business that has been fully trading for less than five years, and pass a credit check. Because it is a personal loan, read carefully what you would owe if the business fails.

Nations and Regions Investment Funds

Outside London, the bank runs regional funds for smaller businesses: Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, the South West Investment Fund, and the Investment Funds for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. At the time of writing (September 2026), they offer loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment of up to £5 million. You apply to the fund managers selected for your area, and your business must be headquartered there or have a significant operating presence there.

Two new funds, for the East of England and the South East (which excludes London), share a £350 million allocation and will offer the same ranges. The latest official page we could read said the East of England fund was due in summer 2026; we could not confirm that either had opened at the time of writing (September 2026).

Regional Angels Programme

The Regional Angels Programme invests alongside angel investors in smaller businesses across the UK, to reduce regional gaps in access to early-stage equity. Its total capital is £285 million, according to the bank's page at the time of writing (September 2026), and it may also invest directly in high-performing companies, supporting Series A rounds and beyond. Founders reach it through the angel groups it works with, not by applying to the bank.

Enterprise Capital Funds

The Enterprise Capital Funds programme puts public and private money into privately managed venture capital funds that invest in high-growth, early-stage businesses. The bank can provide up to two thirds of each fund, and it does not take enquiries from individual companies: you pitch to the funds.

At the time of writing (September 2026), companies must meet the Companies Act 2006 definition of an SME, have their principal place of business in the UK, and not have raised more than £5 million in any single previous round. ECFs together can invest no more than £5 million in one company within a 12-month period or a fund's investment period.

Future Fund: Breakthrough

Future Fund: Breakthrough is for later, larger rounds. It is a £425 million UK-wide programme that co-invests with private investors in high-growth, innovative, R&D-intensive companies. At the time of writing (September 2026), the minimum total round is £20 million, the programme takes no more than 30% of a round, and your company must already have raised at least £5 million. A sponsor investor, not the company, makes the application.

Angel networks and crowdfunding

Angel networks bring private investors together to see pitches, and they differ in who they back, how much members invest and what they charge. These examples, from each network's own website at the time of writing (September 2026) and listed alphabetically, show the range; they are not a recommendation.

  • Angel Academe is for female founders or co-founders who own at least 20% of founder equity, raising £250,000 to £5 million in a priced round. It charges a 5% success fee on investment raised through its introductions.
  • Angel Investment Network is an online marketplace. Founders pay a monthly subscription to list a pitch, investors transfer money to the company directly, and the platform takes no commission.
  • Cambridge Angels, based in Cambridge, is an invitation-only group that invests £150,000 to £1.5 million in UK science, engineering, IP-rich and healthcare technology businesses. It levies no charges on companies.
  • SFC Capital, a London SEIS and EIS fund manager with an angel syndicate, says it leads rounds with £100,000 to £300,000 for an average stake of 10% to 20%, and companies must qualify for SEIS.

The UK Business Angels Association is the national trade association for angel and early-stage investment, and it publishes funding guides for founders.

Before you apply, check three things: the total cost; how the network or platform is regulated, including on the Financial Conduct Authority register; and whether it is still active. London Business Angels, for example, no longer operates under its own name, and Maven Capital Partners describes its EIS fund as building on that heritage.

You can compare networks in TrustList's angel network ranking.

Equity crowdfunding

Crowdfunding lets you raise from many smaller investors, including your own customers. Republic Europe, whose UK platform is operated by the FCA-regulated Seedrs Limited, takes businesses based full-time in the UK, EU, EEA or Switzerland with a target raise of over £/€150,000, and campaigns run for up to 30 days. Crowdcube says it connects high-growth private companies with investors in more than 120 countries, including through later-stage raises and secondary share sales.

A campaign is public and can leave you with many small shareholders, so plan how you will report to them for years afterwards.

Accelerators and venture capital in London

Accelerators

An accelerator invests a set amount for a stake and runs a structured programme, usually with a cohort. Terms differ widely, so compare them on paper. As each programme publishes them:

  • Techstars, which runs a London accelerator, invests $220,000: $200,000 on an uncapped MFN Safe and $20,000 on a post-money convertible equity agreement. Techstars receives a minimum of 5%, plus whatever the Safe converts into, and charges no fee. The programme lasts three months. At the time of writing (September 2026), the London final deadline is 18 November 2026, for a start on 8 March 2027.
  • Entrepreneurs First gives London participants a £6,000 Talent Investment. It invests up to $250,000: $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 8%, and a further $125,000 on an uncapped MFN SAFE. The programme has 12 weeks in your local hub and 12 weeks in San Francisco; check the conditions on the second $125,000.
  • Antler's UK page describes £210,000 at inception: £125,000 for 8.5% equity plus an £85,000 convertible note, plus a £40,000 programme fee. Its London residency is an eight-week sprint.
  • Seedcamp began in 2007 as an accelerator but now invests as a fund, with a first cheque usually between $350,000 and $1.25 million.

You can compare programmes in TrustList's startup accelerator ranking.

Venture capital firms

Venture capital firms back companies they expect to grow very quickly. TrustList's ranking of venture capital firms in London lists firms with a London office.

How to approach them:

  • Match the stage. Check the stages, cheque sizes and sectors on the fund's own website.
  • Find out who leads. Followers wait for a lead investor to set the terms.
  • Get an introduction. A founder the fund has backed, an angel who co-invests with it or your accelerator is a better route than a cold email.
  • Be ready. Have your deck, financial model and cap table prepared, and SEIS or EIS advance assurance if it applies.

How to use TrustList's funding rankings

The UK startup funding programmes ranking brings together the schemes in this guide, with facts quoted from official pages. Use it alongside the rankings linked above.

Be clear about what the investor rankings show. A funder is included because its own website says it invests at that stage, in that sector or from an office in that city. The rankings are built from what funders publish about themselves, not from investment performance or returns, and they cannot tell you whether a funder will back your company. Sponsored placements are labelled. Our trust and methodology page explains how TrustList keeps rankings independent.

Every investor and programme profile on TrustList also has a form to request an introduction. The TrustList team reads each request and passes on only those that fit the funder's stage and focus, with your pitch and contact details. It costs nothing, and a funder is not obliged to reply.

TrustList does not give financial, investment or tax advice. For SEIS, EIS, VCT and R&D tax relief eligibility, speak to a qualified adviser.

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