- UK university spinouts have nearly tripled in value to £49 billion since 2020.
- Equity in UK spinouts is typically unequal and highly variable, according to the first ever analysis of founder shareholding in university spinouts.
Spotlight on Spinouts 2026 report
The Royal Academy of Engineering today publishes the sixth edition of its annual Spotlight on Spinouts report, which provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of how UK universities are commercialising research into spinouts. The report finds that although Switzerland leads Europe on a per capita basis for spinout value, the UK remains the leading country in Europe in absolute value terms, outperforming major European economies like Germany and France.
The UK hosts five of the top ten European universities for spinout value creation, with the University of Oxford, (ranked 1st in Europe), University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL), University of Bristol and Imperial College London all appearing in the top ten.
In 2025, two of Europe’s six $1 billion+ spinout exits came from the University of Oxford: OrganOx (a medical device), was acquired for around $1.5 billion and Oxford Ionics (quantum technology), sold for around $1.1 billion. These exits provide clear evidence that the UK spinouts landscape is maturing and can scale to globally competitive outcomes, not just early-stage innovation
Accelerating pace of growth
Since 2010, some 2,000 spin out companies have been created in the UK, generating 27,000 jobs, 70% of them after 2020. The combined enterprise value of these companies has grown 2.8-fold since 2020. This reflects a combination of factors including a surge of post‑2015 companies reaching commercial maturity, strong progression to later funding stages, and sustained investment into high-value deep tech sectors such as life sciences, AI and quantum, which together account for the vast majority of spinout value. More than three quarters of this value is held in private, non-acquired firms, with 80% (£40 billion) attributable to spinouts headquartered in the UK.
Regional distribution of innovation
The inclusion of the University of Bristol in the top European rankings reflects a broadening of areas typically associated with leading UK innovation. There is also strong regional growth in places like the North of England (in the ‘Northern Arc’ of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield); Midlands (Nottingham) and Scotland (Dundee, Edinburgh). However, despite more geographically distributed activity, in terms of the volume and funding of spinouts, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge dominate in spinout value creation since 2010.
Equity stakes for founders and universities
In the first analysis of its kind, the report found that founder equity in UK spinouts is typically unequal and highly variable. Some 63% of successful spinouts had unequal founder equity splits, with 34% having equal splits. Stakes are shaped by roles and time contributions, with senior or operational roles (especially CEO) tending to receive larger equity shares, but this was not consistent.
Spotlight on Spinouts 2026 report
More than half of founders reported that roles in their teams had changed after formation, further complicating equity arrangements. A lack of clear, consistent guidance left many founders navigating complex negotiations with limited support.
Average university equity stakes have fallen to around 16%, the lowest level recorded in the past decade, and are more consistent across the tertiary sector, reflecting recent reforms and guidance. (1) This marks a significant shift from 22–25% in the period leading up to the 2023 reforms, which aimed to reduce excessive university stakes and make spinouts more attractive to investors. However, the report shows that software companies still face relatively high equity stakes, on average around 17%, compared with government guidance, which recommends 10% or less.
Lord Vallance KCB FRS FMedSci FRCP HonFREng, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear said:
“We are home to some of the world’s best universities and brightest scientific minds, and the companies emerging from our higher education sector are delivering the growth which creates new jobs, greater investment, and more opportunity.
"While there is still more work to do, this report shows the UK is well placed to continue moving from strength to strength - delivering innovations that will improve lives all over the world".
Dr Caroline Hargrove CBE FREng, Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Committee Chair said:
“Deep tech now defines the UK spinout landscape, accounting for 96% of total value and underpinning much of the country’s innovation strength. We are also seeing clear signs of a more mature and geographically diverse ecosystem, with activity extending well beyond the ‘Golden Triangle’. Spinouts are increasingly scaling to significant outcomes, outperforming the wider UK tech startup market.
“The Royal Academy of Engineering’s regional Enterprise Hubs play an important role in supporting founders where they are, providing place-based support that reflects local strengths and needs. They connect entrepreneurs to the networks, expertise and practical help needed to build and grow ventures in their own regions.
“The report also shows that many founders are still navigating complex equity discussions with too little guidance. There is a clear need for fairer benchmarks, greater transparency and more structured support for equity distribution between founding teams throughout the negotiation process.”
Ana Avaliani, Director of Enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
“Spotlight on Spinouts 2026 shows that the UK is world- class at turning research into innovation, but we’re still too slow getting ideas out of the lab and into the market. Spinouts can take 12 to 18 months to launch, and that pace simply doesn’t match the urgency of the opportunity.
“Universities are starting to shift in the right direction, with reduced equity stakes, but the focus now needs to be on backing the upside and creating the next generation of high-growth companies, not just managing risk.
“Finally, while progress has been made in broadening participation, there is still a long way to go. A decade ago, women were involved in just 7% of spinouts, today 17% of spinouts have at least one female founder. But that progress has stalled in recent years, and our report shows that 83% of spinouts still have all-male founding teams.”
Notes for editors
1. The University Spinout Investment Terms (USIT) guidance (2023) and the Independent review of university spin-out companies.
2. The Enterprise Hub supports talented entrepreneurs and decision makers to transform breakthrough engineering innovations into disruptive spinouts, startups and scaleups. It was ranked the number one startup hub according to the Financial Times/Sifted and 14th in Europe for 2025. Since launching in 2013, it has supported more than 600 researchers, recent graduates and SME leaders to start up and scale up businesses that can give practical application to their inventions. Hub Members have gone on to raise more than £3.8 billion in additional funding and create over 6,100 jobs.
3. The Royal Academy of Engineering creates and leads a community of outstanding experts and innovators to engineer better lives. As a charity and a Fellowship, we deliver public benefit from excellence in engineering and technology and convene leading businesspeople, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics across engineering and technology. As a National Academy, we provide leadership for engineering and technology, and independent, expert advice to policymakers in the UK and beyond.
Our work is enabled by funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, corporate and university partners, charitable trusts and foundations, and individual donors.