The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has opened applications for Scale UK Connect, a pilot scheme offering 200 high-growth UK companies a year of tailored support to help them expand without needing to relocate abroad. Businesses can apply now, according to the government announcement.
What the pilot offers
Scale UK Connect will provide expert account management and bespoke advice over a 12-month programme, alongside networking opportunities with other founders, investors and major funds. The scheme is also designed to open up trade opportunities both in the UK and internationally.
The pilot is being led by growth agency London & Partners, working with partner organisations in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, the South West and Scotland. The government says this regional network means companies across the UK, not just in London, will be able to access the support.
Why it matters
The announcement cites UK tech start-ups raising $17bn in the first half of 2026, which it says is more than France, Germany and Sweden combined. Despite that scale of early-stage investment, the department argues too many promising firms stall as they try to grow, often because they lack the advice, capital or connections needed to reach the next stage. Scale UK Connect is pitched as a direct response to that gap, aiming to build a pipeline of companies that can follow UK scale-up successes such as Quantexa and Synthesia.
UK Science Minister Chris McDonald said the scheme is intended to let entrepreneurs know “we’ve got their backs to take their ambitions further”, giving 200 companies from across the country the advice, investor links and global opportunities needed to grow, stay and create jobs “in every postcode”.
Part of a wider Budget package
The pilot forms one element of a broader package of support for entrepreneurs announced in Chancellor John Healey’s Budget the day before this release. That package includes what the government describes as cementing the UK’s tax offer for founders and their companies, and changes to how public procurement supports UK industry and innovation. The stated aim is to address practical barriers facing founders and high-growth firms: finding customers, accessing capital, attracting talent and navigating government processes.
The release also points to past examples of this kind of support working, citing Intelligent Lab on Fiber (iLoF), a digital health company using an AI platform to help diagnose diseases such as lung cancer and Alzheimer’s more quickly, as a firm that has previously benefited from a similar London-based programme.
What UK scale-ups should do next
Eligible high-growth firms can apply to the Scale UK Connect pilot now via the channels set out in the government’s announcement. The scheme is explicitly aimed at companies with ambitions to expand internationally while keeping their base, and therefore their jobs and tax contribution, in the UK.
What to watch next: how quickly the 200 places are filled, which sectors and regions are best represented among successful applicants, and whether the pilot’s outcomes after its first 12-month cohort lead the government to expand the scheme beyond this initial trial.