UK’s Tech Nation to close, sell assets after losing government grant funding
Tech Nation, a growth platform for UK tech start-ups, has announced it will be ceasing operations on 31 March 2023 and will look to sell its assets after the termination of its core government grant funding.
Tech Nation to close down
Since its inception in 2014, Tech Nation has been backed by the government for a decade to serve the UK’s scale-up tech ecosystem. Its core grant funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is now being awarded to Barclays Bank.
“With this foundation removed, Tech Nation’s remaining activities are not viable on a standalone basis,” it says.
“As a direct result of the DCMS grant withdrawal, Tech Nation will be ceasing all existing operations through a carefully planned wind-down and has commenced a redundancy consultation process.”
The not-for-profit organisation says core public funding underpins “everything” it does, including its work on accelerator programmes, research reports, and visa processing for the Home Office, among other things.
“Furthermore, continuing without core funding would compromise our status as a Public Interest company,” it says.
Tech Nation adds that it is “actively seeking” interested parties to acquire a portfolio of its assets which could be taken forward in a new guise. The deadline for expressions of interest is 14 February 2023.
The company has commenced its redundancy consultation process for all its permanent employees. While all operations are set to cease on 31 March, its visa programme will continue in the immediate term.
“Many of Britain’s most successful tech companies, from Monzo to Deliveroo, and from Skyscanner to Darktrace, have passed through one or more of Tech Nation’s growth programmes,” says Gerard Grech, founding CEO of Tech Nation.
“We have helped champion and support innovators in everything from AI to fintech to climate tech and more. In doing so, we have helped spread digital growth and jobs nation-wide. For every pound invested in Tech Nation, we have returned £15.”
In the nine years of its operations, Tech Nation was instrumental in the growth of the UK’s tech landscape, bringing it to a valuation of $1 trillion today, as compared to $60 billion in 2013. It helped create 4.8 million jobs and 135 tech unicorns with 20 UK cities now having at least one tech unicorn or more.
