UK Industrial Strategy sectors drive company growth and investment in Q3

• Number of UK corporations rose by 0.43 per cent to 5.48 million in Q3 
• After London (£3.92 billion), Scotland recorded the second-highest regional investment, with £507m raised
• Almost a fifth (19.2 per cent) of UK corporations now operate in Industrial Strategy sectors (IS8)
• UK equity investment increased by 78.4 per cent to £5.89bn, led by Digital, Professional & Business Services, and Financial Services

The Barclays Regional Investment Map, which provides insights into UK company funding and growth, reveals an increase in new business registrations across the UK in Q3 2025.

According to the analysis by Barclays Eagle Labs and Beauhurst the number of active UK companies has risen to 5.48 million – a 0.43 per cent increase from the previous quarter. An estimated 1.05 million of these companies are operating within the key IS8 sectors, meaning almost a fifth (19.2 per cent) of all UK corporations are aligned with this key long-term focus area for the government.

Industrial strategy sectors power regional growth

The UK’s IS8 sectors – Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Digital & Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Professional & Business Services, and Defence – remain a priority to boost national growth, productivity and innovation.

In Q3 2025, these sectors collectively attracted £3.90bn in equity Investment, led by Digital and Technology (£2.37bn), Professional and Business Services (£1.24bn), and Financial Services (£986m). Together, these sectors accounted for almost half (47.7 per cent) of total UK equity investment activity this quarter.

Scotland leads regional investment outside of London

Equity investment across the UK rose sharply in Q3 2025, increasing 78.4 per cent to £5.89bn. This marks a significant increase following a slower first half of the year and indicates a steady increase in investor confidence. The Digital and Technology sector remained the largest single driver of equity investment, attracting £2.37bn via 628 deals, with nearly half (47.5 per cent) at the seed stage. Advanced Manufacturing, though smaller in company numbers, recorded the highest average sum raised per company, including two large deals in automotive and advanced manufacturing.

Scotland stood out for its growth in equity investment, rising almost tenfold (675 per cent) to £507m. This was dominated by a single transaction by Fidra Energy, which raised £445m to deliver the Thorpe Marsh Battery Energy Storage System. Scotland also led the UK in Clean Energy investment, with £450m invested into clean energy companies, followed by London with £121m. This surge highlights Scotland’s growing role in the UK’s energy transition and its ability to attract large-scale capital for innovative projects.

Scotland is also the largest hub for university spinouts outside of the Golden Triangle (Cambridge, London and Oxford), with 339 spinouts recorded in Q3 2025, demonstrating its strength in translating research and innovation into high-growth businesses.

While Defence remains a smaller sector by company count, it continues to attract targeted equity investment, particularly in regions with strong Advanced Manufacturing and Technology clusters. London (£65m), West Midlands (£35m), and South East (£4.3m) all recorded notable Defence equity investment alongside significant activity in Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technologies.

Abdul Qureshi, MD, Business Banking at Barclays said: “The government has set out a clear vision by identifying the IS8 sectors as priorities for UK growth. While our latest Regional Investment Map shows almost a fifth of all companies now operating in Industrial Strategy sectors, there is also sustained growth and investment in sectors across the board.

“The increase in equity investment, especially in Digital, Professional Services, and Clean Energy, demonstrates the UK’s appeal to investors and its capacity for innovation-led growth. Scotland’s performance is particularly impressive, underlining the importance of growth across all pockets of the UK in driving national progress.”

Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said: “The UK is a top investment destination, and this data shows the power of government and industry working together to drive economic growth into every part of the country, creating jobs and new opportunities for people as part of our Plan for Change.

“Unleashing the full potential of the UK’s nations and regions is at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy, and we’re providing investors the stability and confidence they need to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.”

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Notes to editors

The Barclays Regional Investment Map, released quarterly, is an extensive data set which offers insight into the funding landscape in the UK and number of companies in the UK. By collating data from a breadth of sources, including Companies House, this data offers a clear view into which regions are seeing strong investment and growth in the number of companies. The information is sourced from Beauhurst, a comprehensive database of UK companies.

Active Population and New Incorporations

The active population data includes active and dormant companies registered on Companies House. A company is called dormant if it has had no customer / client transactions in the financial year. These are included as these companies are not considered to have gone out of business. A company can be labelled dormant if its financials were not filed in time. The new incorporation figures represent new businesses registered on Companies House. The recent data, including spinout population, accounts for the period 01/07/25 to 30/09/25. 

Grant Funding

The grant data shows three months from 01/07/25 to 30/09/25, with growth rates calculated using the grant data for the three months from 01/07/24 to 30/09/24. The grant funding is calculated from both the private and public sector. This is data collated from various sources including media outlets and grant agencies and organisations.

Investment

The equity investment data is sourced exclusively from Beauhurst. Beauhurst’s data includes both announced and unannounced equity fundraisings.

The investment deals captured are the equity deals into private companies across Quarter 3 2025; given small company populations not every region will see investment in every IS8 every quarter.

Industrial Strategy Sectors

The Industrial Strategy 8 (IS8) analysis is based on Beauhurst data covering the eight key sectors defined within the UK’s Industrial Strategy framework: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Professional and Business Services, and Defence.

Figures for active companies represent all currently trading or operational UK businesses identified within these industries as of the end of Q3 2025. Each company is classified according to its primary or secondary area(s) of activity using Beauhurst’s proprietary sector tagging. Because many businesses operate across multiple fields – for example, combining AI and healthcare, or advanced manufacturing and defence – companies may appear in more than one IS8 category. This approach aligns with the government’s own methodology, which recognises that companies can operate across several IS8 sectors. For this reason, company totals should be interpreted as indicative rather than mutually exclusive counts.

Investment data includes all equity rounds completed by companies tagged within each IS8 sector during the quarter. As with company population, a single deal may contribute to multiple sector totals if the company operates across more than one IS8 area. Consequently, the aggregate sum across all eight sectors will exceed the national total for overall UK investment activity.

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About Beauhurst

Beauhurst is the ultimate source of UK private company data. Through our data platform, we provide data on every UK private company – from investments and hiring status, to patents and trade data – identifying hidden growth, innovation, risk, and ESG signals across UK companies.

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