Small Business Equity Tracker
British Business Bank's annual report tracking UK smaller-business equity investment; 2026 edition covers 2025 data.
Last refreshed: 22 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Small Business Equity Tracker
Documented the 44% AI share and 23% concentration figures
UK Startups and Innovation: AI takes record 44% of UK equity marketDocumented the London-to-regions share shift
UK Startups and Innovation: London's equity share slips to 57%Documented the spinout deal-count and value declines
UK Startups and Innovation: Spinout deals fall 33% as seed dries upBackground
The Small Business Equity Tracker is the British Business Bank's annual report on equity investment into UK smaller businesses. Its 2026 edition, published on 2 July 2026, found the overall market shrank 4% to £12.3bn in 2025 while AI companies took a record 44% share of that value.
The tracker measures the value of equity raised rather than the number of companies funded, so a record AI share can sit on top of fewer names taking larger cheques. The 2026 edition also found the top 10 fundraisings absorbed 23% of all investment, the highest concentration since 2020, seed deals fell 27%, and university spinout deals fell 33% by count and 51% by value.
It also tracked a regional shift, with London's share of UK equity investment falling from 60% in 2024 to 57% in 2025 while the North West, Scotland and the South West grew, driven by a small number of large AI and energy deals.
