2025 in review: Supporting growth, job creation, and South West excellence
Despite economic uncertainty, 2025 has been a phenomenal year for innovation-led businesses in the South West. Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by Business West in the South West, has once again been instrumental in enabling innovators to access vital support, manage their innovation efficiently, and achieve sustainable growth.
In 2025, the service has:
- Supported 40 businesses to be awarded £25,192,942 in grant funding
- Aided in the equity investment of 26 businesses, raising £30,616,845
- Helped businesses maintain 275 jobs and create 113 new roles
Innovate UK Business Growth has helped innovators to overcome barriers to growth, and go further, faster. Nowhere is this clearer than in the support for Tope Ocean. This Devon-based business is developing technology and services to help the aquaculture sector remotely monitor crops and infrastructure with its innovative low-cost offshore data buoy system.
With support from Innovate UK Business Growth, they’ve:
- Secured £182k in grant funding
- Doubled turnover in two years
- Created new jobs and developed IP for further growth
And it’s not just new clients that have seen success. We are beyond proud to see previous clients build upon the support provided by Innovate UK Business Growth and see astonishing success.
Snap Analytics, a leading data and AI consultancy headquartered in Bristol, are celebrating the creation of over 100 jobs since Innovate UK Business Growth supported their early journey. PEEQUAL, another Bristol-based previous client, have just raised a massive £925,000 in the latest round of funding for their game-changing female urinal.
Expanding markets and internationalisation
We have also worked with businesses as they look to new, global opportunities. 209 businesses have either completed or are still on our international support packages. This support has enabled businesses to expand into new markets and, importantly, new partnerships for growth.
A fantastic example of this is KuasaSemi. This Cornwall-based software innovator secured over £117,000 in funded initiatives and built strategic partnerships with global leaders in the semiconductor industry. This was all made possible after being selected for a series of Global Business Innovation Programmes (GBIPs) to Taiwan, Japan, and then a joint trip to Germany and Switzerland.
“Innovate UK Business Growth has been truly transformational in helping us make connections that we simply couldn’t have accessed on our own,” - Michael Mawby, Director, KuasaSemi
In Bristol, Innovate UK Business Growth worked with hydrogen electrolyser company, Oort Energy, to leverage the Enterprise Europe Network, leading to partnerships with Naco Technologies in Latvia and Heraeus Group in Germany.
“These projects should really help us boost the efficiency and lower the cost of our technology” – Dr Nick Van Dijk, CEO, Oort Energy
Businesses across the region have also benefited from Innovate UK Business Growth’s Design for Growth initiative, which tackles challenges related to branding, product design and customer insights.
Gareth Allen, Managing Director of Plymouth-based SoundView Media, says: “The Design for Growth initiative meant that we really got a good understanding of person-centred design. And particularly for our product, person-centred design needs to be right at the core of what we do."
Securing the future of innovation
This year Innovate UK also launched the Secure Innovation Security Reviews (SISRs). This programme enables businesses to access the expertise of a cyber and security professional, no matter the size, sector, or levels of innovation within the organisation.
Intanify, a pioneering company utilising proprietary AI to help businesses manage and grow their valuable intangible assets, underwent a SISR and has reaped the rewards. Not only have they introduced new secure processes, but the review itself served as a vital tool that proved “very powerful” when securing their relationship with a major US law firm.
Spotlighting Women in Innovation
Looking forward to 2026, Innovate UK Business Growth will continue providing support to innovation-led businesses. One of the first things to look forward to is the 2025/2026 Women in Innovation Awards, which are now open for applications. We can’t wait to spotlight some of the incredibly talented women who are leading the charge for innovation in the South West.
Just recently, we were celebrating Samantha Payne, co-founder of Open Bionics, by unveiling a purple plaque at her former school, St Bernadette’s Catholic Secondary. The Purple Plaques campaign aims to encourage more girls into STEM, by allowing award winners like Samantha to return to their former schools and deliver assemblies and workshops to show students that anyone, regardless of background or gender, can change the world through innovation.
2025 has proven that, even in challenging times, innovation in the South West is thriving. From ocean technology to semiconductor breakthroughs, from securing intellectual property to opening doors for women in STEM, South West innovators are helping to shape the future of, not just the UK, but the world.
With over £55 million raised, 113 new jobs created, and hundreds of businesses supported, Innovate UK Business Growth has shown what’s possible when ambition meets opportunity.
The South West continues to shine on the global stage. The next chapter of growth is already being written, and we’re excited to see where your ideas will take us.