Common Questions

What is Beauhurst used for?: Beauhurst is used by investors, banks, government bodies, and researchers to find and track UK high-growth companies, monitor deal flow, and evaluate the impact of funding policy.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
Is Beauhurst data accurate for UK startup funding?: Beauhurst is the most comprehensive commercial source for UK equity rounds and grant data, though it only tracks companies that have raised equity or grants; bootstrapped companies are not included.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
Who uses Beauhurst?: Beauhurst is used by venture capital funds, corporate venturing teams, government departments including UKRI and Innovate UK, banks, and academic researchers studying the UK startup ecosystem.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
What is Beauhurst and what data does it track?: Beauhurst is a UK private company data platform tracking equity rounds, grants, accelerator participations, board changes and financial filings for 85,000+ high-growth UK companies. It is used by investors, government bodies and banks to understand UK startup deal flow and policy effectiveness.Source: Beauhurst platform description
What did Beauhurst's data show about UK university spinout fundraising?: Beauhurst data shows 36.7% of UK university spinout fundraisings closed below £500k in 2025. This figure was the empirical basis for TenU's University Spinout Investment Terms for Software guide launched at Mansion House in May 2026.Source: TenU USIT guide launch, 20 May 2026
Has UK government grant funding for startups been falling?: Yes. Beauhurst's 2026 spinout data shows UK grant awards fell to their lowest count since 2016, even as average grant size rose 10.96% to £423,000. Fewer companies are receiving larger awards, squeezing proof-of-concept funding for early-stage spinouts.Source: Beauhurst 2026 spinout data
How does Beauhurst differ from Companies House data?: Companies House filings are statutory and backdated; Beauhurst's data is prospective and curated, tracking deals, grants and growth metrics in near real time. This makes it the primary private company intelligence utility for investors and government analysts rather than a legal register.Source: Beauhurst platform description

Background

Beauhurst is the UK's primary private company data platform, tracking equity investment, grant funding, accelerator participations, board changes and financial filings across more than 85,000 high-growth UK companies. Its data has become structurally embedded in UK technology policy: in 2026, Beauhurst figures were cited in the TenU consortium's University Spinout Investment Terms for Software guide, which used Beauhurst's finding that 36.7% of UK university spinout fundraisings closed below £500k in 2025 as the empirical basis for the guide's founder-friendly equity blueprint, launched at Mansion House on 20 May 2026. Separately, Beauhurst's 2026 spinout data showed UK grant awards had fallen to their lowest count since 2016, even as average grant size rose 10.96% to £423,000, a concentration pattern that squeezes proof-of-concept funding for early-stage spinouts.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, Beauhurst co-produces the annual NatWest Startup Index and publishes quarterly UK venture deal-flow reports. Its VCT Tax Relief Tracker monitors how changes to SEIS/EIS/VCT rules affect investment volumes, and its data has been cited in Parliamentary debates evaluating programme effectiveness. The platform is used by investors, government bodies (including DSIT, the British Business Bank, and Innovate UK), banks and academic researchers to understand deal flow, sector trends, and policy outcomes.

Beauhurst occupies an unusual structural position: it is simultaneously a commercial product and a de facto public record of how the UK technology ecosystem is performing. Unlike Companies House filings (which are statutory and backdated), Beauhurst's data is prospective and curated, making it the closest thing the UK has to a real-time private company intelligence utility. For startup founders, Beauhurst visibility increases discoverability to investors; for investors, its data enables comparable-transaction diligence; for government, it is the primary empirical check on whether policy instruments (Innovate UK grants, BBB funds, VCT reform) are reaching their intended targets. Its independence from any single funder makes its assessments credible across the ecosystem in a way that government-published statistics are not.