There’s good news for UK scale-ups: venture funding is on the up.
KPMG’s latest Venture Pulse shows a strong rebound in Q3 2025, with almost 600 deals worth £4.6bn. That’s up from £2.6bn across 435 deals in the previous quarter, and makes the UK the strongest market in Europe just now.
The UK’s role in frontier technologies like AI, fintech and life sciences is a key factor behind the upward trend. Scale-ups in these sectors are attracting the attention of US funds, which increasingly see the UK as a cost-efficient place to invest.
That’s encouraging for founders planning their next financing round. With backers viewing the UK as a strategic hub for cross-border investment, British scale-ups have an opportunity to be at the front of the queue.
Yet despite the positive sentiment, the fundraising landscape remains challenging for women-led businesses. Globally, the share of VC capital going to female-founded firms remains stubbornly low, at around 2%.
Too many women have negative experiences on the road to fundraising. A common refrain from our conversations with them goes: “The system isn’t set up for us.” As a result, some are reluctant to seek funding without the right support.
