UK pension providers explore £1B fund for domestic tech investment

Two of the UK’s largest pension providers are building a £1 billion war chest to back homegrown science and technology companies. The initiative, called the Scale-Up Fund, represents a deliberate effort to keep British innovation funded by British capital, rather than watching promising startups flee to Silicon Valley for their growth-stage checks. Nest and Railpen are spearheading the effort with support from the British Business Bank, the government-backed institution that exists precisely to fill gaps like this one. The fund targets companies that have already proven their concepts but need serious capital to commercialize technology, scale operations, and hire. The Mansion House effect This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Scale-Up Fund is a direct descendant of the Mansion House Accord, signed in May 2025 by 17 pension providers who collectively promised to redirect more of their portfolios toward UK firms. That accord was, in effect, a handshake between the pension industry and the government. The providers committed to boosting allocations to unlisted equities, startups, and infrastructure. The numbers involved are staggering: a £50 billion commitment from major funds toward...