The tech and energy sectors have helped propel investment in the region

The West Country has become the fastest-growing investment market in Britain, new research has revealed. The region recorded the biggest percentage increase in equity investment of any area of the UK in 2025, driven by large tech and energy megadeals.

Investment into smaller businesses in the South West more than doubled to £687m last year – an increase of 104 per cent compared with 2024 – according to the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker.

It comes despite a 13 per cent fall in the number of deals to 121, as investors concentrated capital into fewer, larger deals.

These included £187m raised by Bristol tech business The Smarter Web Company through nine deals in 2025, and two growth-stage rounds of £105m for Salisbury-based energy company Rockhopper Exploration and £100m for clean energy company Low Carbon, which has a presence in Bristol and Exeter.

The megadeals also doubled the South West’s share of UK equity investment from three per cent the year before to six per cent in 2025.

Across the rest of the UK, deal values fell overall by four per cent and volumes by 17 per cent.

Ed Tellwright, director for the South West at British Business Bank Local Growth Team, said: “Thanks to a handful of large deals the South West has bucked the national trend and seen the fastest equity growth in the UK. But the funding environment remains challenging, especially for seed stage and non-AI businesses.

“That’s why we remain committed to helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK, and that includes activity concentrated at early stage where market declines have been most pronounced.”

Between 2023 and 2025, the British Business Bank supported 19 per cent of all equity deals in the South West and 11 per cent of total investment value.

Its £200m South West Investment Fund, launched in 2023 to boost the flow of capital to new and growing businesses, has helped fund more than 50 equity deals to date with some £37m of investment.

The number of South West spin-out businesses supported by the bank has also grown from less than five per cent between 2016 and 2020, to more than 25 per cent in the last five years.

This includes University of Bristol spin-out QLM Technology in Torbay which received £1m from the South West Investment Fund as part of a £3.5m round last year to support the development and commercial scaling of its advanced methane monitoring technology.

AI firms capture record investment

Nationally, the Small Business Equity Tracker showed that AI continues to reshape the UK’s startup economy, attracting a record share of investment in 2025 and driving larger deals.

AI companies accounted for 44 per cent of total equity investment into smaller businesses in 2025, the highest share on record. AI also represented more than a quarter (26 per cent) of all deals, nearly doubling its share since 2022. Investment in AI-related deals rose by 48 per cent year-on-year, highlighting strong investor appetite despite a broader market slowdown.

Investors also concentrated capital into fewer, larger transactions in 2025 with the UK’s top 10 fundraisings accounting for nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all investment, the highest level since 2020. Equity investment into UK smaller businesses fell slightly, by four per cent to £12.3bn last year, however, investment remained above pre- pandemic levels.

While national growth-stage investment proved resilient, early-stage deals at seed and venture stages were lower. The digital and technologies sector remained the largest recipient of equity investment, while advanced manufacturing saw strong growth in investment value across the year. Meanwhile, investment in financial services and life sciences declined in 2025.

Overall winner DigiProp and the other Welsh winners will now compete in the UK StartUp Awards in September

Cardiff-based property information tech firm DigiProp has been named the best start-up company in Wales.

It took the overall title at the 2026 Wales StartUp Awards. The company, set up by entrepreneur Matthew Lindsey, also took the digital start-up category at the awards.

All Welsh winners will now compete in the UK StartUp Awards which will be held in September at entrepreneurship festival Ideas Fest. They will compete against regional award winners in England, as well as those from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

DigiProp is transforming how property inspections are conducted, replacing static photos and lengthy manual reports with immersive 360° digital records that combine visual data, structured property information, and AI-assisted defect detection into a single intelligent asset.

The judges were impressed by the scale of the problem DigiProp is solving, the technology behind the solution and the potential to build the digital infrastructure for property inspection right across the UK.

Founder of the StartUp Awards Professor Dylan Jones-Evans said of all the winners at the awards, held at Tramshed in Cardiff; “These amazing Welsh businesses are not just coming up with clever ideas, but are building businesses with real purpose, commercial credibility and the potential to scale.

“What impressed the judges was the evidence behind their ambition from customers and partnerships to investment, innovation, impact and growth and across every region, we are seeing founders creating jobs, opening up new markets and challenging established industries.

“Many are also tackling some of the biggest issues facing society, from health and sustainability to clean energy, digital inclusion and productivity, and that combination of entrepreneurial energy and practical impact is what makes this year’s winners so impressive. Their success is not only worth celebrating, but it is also worth backing.”

All the winners

• Overall Wales StartUp of the Year & Digital StartUp of the Year: DigiProp.co.uk.
• Beauty, Health & Wellbeing StartUp of the Year: Hikitalo.
• Business to Business StartUp of the Year: MPW Making Places Work.
• Construction & Building Services StartUp of the Year: Ateb Groundworks.
• Consumer Products StartUp of the Year: Joe’s Plant Place.
• Consumer Services StartUp of the Year: IV Wetroom.
• Creative StartUp of the Year: Hope Design Solutions.
• Education & Training StartUp of the Year: Redpen AI.
• Food & Drink StartUp of the Year: Tumptonics.
• Global StartUp of the Year: Camlin.
• Graduate StartUp of the Year: Young Potters.
• Green StartUp of the Year: Ecodetect.
• Hospitality, Tourism & Events StartUp of the Year: Booking Hub.
• Innovative StartUp of the Year: LanoTech.
• Marketing & Advertising StartUp of the Year: Copperhouse Films.
• Professional Services StartUp of the Year: Littlechild & Haley.
• ·Retail & E-Commerce StartUp of the Year: Spines.
• Rising Star Award: Blackline Academy.
• StartUp For Good Award: Emwill Care.
• Technology StartUp of the Year: Vedri Studio.
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Tiger Bay Cleaning.
• Judges’ Choice: AilArian.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Wednesday he “loves” teenage star Lamine Yamal‘s declaration that the reigning European champions will be “almost unstoppable” once they hit their stride at the 2026 World Cup, backing his young winger’s bold proclamation ahead of Thursday’s round of 32 match against Austria at SoFi Stadium.

De la Fuente’s endorsement came after Yamal set tongues wagging with comments made in a radio interview earlier this week, in which the 17-year-old Barcelona winger suggested Spain had yet to show their true colors and predicted a dominant run once the team clicked.

“Once we hit our stride … we’ll be almost unstoppable,” Yamal said in the radio interview, adding that Spain are “the only national team expected to play really well” at the tournament.

The comments prompted questions about whether Yamal’s confidence bordered on arrogance, particularly given Spain’s uneven group stage showing. The team drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opener, a result that drew widespread criticism given Cape Verde’s status as one of the tournament’s rank outsiders. Spain subsequently beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 and edged Uruguay 1-0 to top Group B, but neither performance fully dispelled the sense that the side was operating well below the level that had made them European champions in 2024.

De la Fuente, speaking at his prematch news conference Wednesday at SoFi Stadium, was asked directly about Yamal’s bold claims and offered an enthusiastic defense of his youngest star’s mindset.

“I think he’s an optimistic player, confident about his possibilities and those of his teammates,” De la Fuente said. “We know what our potential is. We know how far we can go. His words, in their context, seem very positive to me. He transmits optimism, confidence, security, and I love that.”

Yamal himself has had an uneven tournament, in part due to a pre-tournament injury that curtailed his preparation and limited his early availability. He played only 19 minutes in the Cape Verde draw before contributing a goal in 45 minutes against Saudi Arabia. He was on the pitch for 76 minutes against Uruguay but found it harder to impact the game against tighter, more organized defensive opposition. De la Fuente addressed questions about whether Yamal will be capable of completing 90 minutes against Austria and struck an optimistic note.

“Lamine can now play whatever we ask of him,” De la Fuente said. “We’ve been, as always, very careful with all the players’ recovery. It isn’t the same playing a very demanding game, very intense and fast, where you might only be able to play half an hour, and other games that are more comfortable and you can play 70 minutes. Lamine is really good. You’ve seen how excited he is to play.”

Austria’s coach Ralf Rangnick offered an interesting counterpoint to Yamal’s confidence, acknowledging the teenager’s generational talent while framing his team’s approach in purely practical terms. Rangnick stopped well short of dismissing the claims, instead expressing something closer to admiration tempered by the pragmatic language of a coach who needs his players focused on nullifying a threat rather than being distracted by it.

“He is an excellent player, and he will be for the next 12, 13, 14 years or even longer if he stays healthy and keeps a good head on his shoulders,” Rangnick said. “If you look at Lionel Messi, you can see he could play a lot of matches. He’s one of the players we’ll watch very closely tomorrow. We’ll try not to give him space when he starts dribbling. He’s a player all fans love to watch, but it’s our task to make sure he has the ball as little as possible.”

De la Fuente also delivered an upbeat injury report on two wingers who picked up knocks during the Uruguay match. Yéremy Pino, who initially appeared to suffer a serious collarbone injury, has made a faster-than-expected recovery and returned to full training, with De la Fuente describing the turnaround as near miraculous given how serious the initial assessment appeared.

“Yeremy’s recovery has been miraculous,” De la Fuente said. “After the game it looked like a fracture and it wasn’t. With his character and his courage, he’s back training completely normally.”

Nico Williams, another key attacking player who sustained what was feared to be a significant injury late in the Uruguay match, has been ruled out of Thursday’s match but is expected to be available for the round of 16 if Spain advance.

“Nico got a big shock, he thought he had an important injury after the game, but it wasn’t like that,” De la Fuente said. “It’s moderate discomfort that prevents him from playing tomorrow, but we’re optimistic he’ll be there for the next game, if we go through.”

Víctor Muñoz, who has yet to feature at all during the tournament, is also back in full training according to De la Fuente, though the coach noted that a lack of recent competitive minutes makes his selection for Thursday’s match a more complex decision.

Spain are widely considered among the tournament’s top three or four favorites despite their uninspiring group stage performances, with the depth of their squad, their tactical flexibility under De la Fuente and the frightening individual quality of players like Yamal, Pedri, Williams and Álvaro Morata giving them a ceiling that most analysts still rate among the highest of any remaining team. The question throughout the group stage has been not whether Spain have that potential but when, and against whom, it will finally manifest in sustained, 90-minute dominance.

De la Fuente closed his news conference with a declaration of growing confidence that mirrored his young star’s own self-belief.

“As the days pass, I believe even more in this team,” De la Fuente said. “I’ve always believed in this team. For me they’re the best in the world. As the tournament evolves, there’s equality with the results we’re seeing. I’m still just as demanding, still just as realistic, but also more optimistic every day.”

Thursday’s round of 32 match kicks off at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood with a place in the round of 16 on the line for both sides.