{
  "id": 5006869,
  "title": "UK startups need UK backing",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/uk-startups-need-uk-backing",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-02T03:49:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/uk-startups-need-uk-backing/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK is a hub for startups, with over 800,000 companies incorporated in recent years. However, only 38% of these companies survive five years post-incorporation, compared to an EU average of 46% and a US average of 51%. This lag in survival rates is attributed to several factors, including a lack of access to investment and challenges inherent to the startup ecosystem. Domestic investment, however, has been declining, with foreign investors now providing the majority of venture capital funding. This shift has led to a geographical concentration of investment in London, with funding for companies outside the city falling from 33% to 25% of the total. Encouraging UK investors to back local startups, particularly through structures like venture capital trusts (VCTs), can help spread investment and job creation across the country. VCTs offer retail investors the opportunity to support innovative UK companies, providing a mechanism for investors to share in the economic growth, jobs, and tax revenues generated by successful startups.",
  "summary": "If we want the economic growth, jobs and tax revenues that come with a buzzing entrepreneurial economy we need to back our startups.",
  "key_points": [
    "Only 38% of UK startups survive five years, below EU and US averages.",
    "Foreign investors now lead venture capital funding, shifting from domestic sources.",
    "VCTs can spread investment and job creation across the UK by involving retail investors."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Boosting domestic investment in UK startups through structures like venture capital trusts can help spread economic growth, jobs, and tax revenues across the country, beyond London's dominant share.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}