The findings demonstrate that the Midlands is becoming one of the UK’s most investable regions for deep tech, life sciences and advanced manufacturing commercialisation.

Bringing together comprehensive data on research excellence, spinout performance, investment flows and grow‑on infrastructure, the report sets out a clear and unified message: the Midlands is entering a new phase of innovation‑led growth.

This shift is being driven by the first region‑wide alignment of universities, capital, talent programmes and physical infrastructure, much of which is being supported through many of Forging Ahead's programmes and its university partners.

The report launch follows shortly after Innovate UK published its new national prospectus for accelerating deep tech commercialisation; a strategy focused on helping breakthrough ideas become scalable, globally competitive companies.

The Midlands’ unified approach directly mirrors this national direction, reinforcing the relevance and timeliness of the region’s coordinated commercialisation efforts.

A turning point for the Midlands

Despite historically receiving just 1% of UK venture capital investment into university spinouts, Midlands university spinouts match the productivity and growth rates of leading institutions in the Golden Triangle. The report shows that this imbalance now represents a major opportunity.

With the scale, talent and systems now in place, the Midlands is positioned to accelerate far beyond historic investment patterns and play a central role in delivering the UK’s modern industrial strategy.

The report highlights:

• A world‑class knowledge base: 20 universities, nearly 30,000 researchers and £6bn in research funding (2019–24) form one of the UK’s most substantial and diverse innovation engines.
• A proven and growing pipeline of high‑quality companies: More than 350 university spinouts, with over 200 active today across deep tech, life sciences, energy, advanced manufacturing and creative technologies — supported by a pipeline capable of generating 20 new spinouts annually.
• Significant physical and organisational infrastructure: 74 science parks and more than 4,600 hectares of future research and industrial development land provide the space and facilities required for companies to scale.
• A major investment opportunity: Analysis suggests Midlands universities could absorb more than £2bn of investment over the next decade, supporting new IP‑rich ventures and unlocking substantial commercial and economic returns.

Major pan‑regional developments

The report highlights how the Forging Ahead project and its partner universities are connecting researchers, founders, investors, industry partners, accelerators and talent pipelines into a single, joined‑up ecosystem. Other major initiatives explored in the report include:

• Midlands Mindforge – a patient‑capital investment company providing long‑term, risk‑tolerant funding for deep tech and life sciences ventures.
• Midlands Ecosystem Platform (Dealroom) – a free, open‑access platform mapping nearly 6,500 startups, including 350+ spinouts, alongside science parks, accelerators and investors.

The Midlands is building a cohesive, confident ecosystem that is maturing rapidly, and closely aligned with government ambitions for a modern industrial strategy.

Dan Parsons, Pro Vice Chancellor of Research & Innovation at Loughborough University and Project Lead for Forging Ahead said: 

“Forging Ahead is at the heart of ‘A New Era of Commercialisation’, reinforcing the ambition of the project and our partners to strengthen the Midlands ecosystem. The report demonstrates what an internationally competitive commercialisation ecosystem we have with physical clusters of IP-rich, innovative businesses. 

Our collaboration of 16 partner universities has been established to support the creation of more spinouts – for them to scale here in the region they were founded, as well as attract more businesses and founders to want to locate here from elsewhere. 

As the report sets out, the Midlands’ central location and its specialist facilities and science parks are all major pull factors in doing that. Through Forging Ahead, it is also our collective efforts working together with these science parks, investors, accelerator programmes, professional service organisations and partners, as one connected, ambitious ecosystem, that makes the Midlands unique.” 

Joshua Hawkins, report author and Assistant Director at Midlands Innovation, said: “Commercialisation in the Midlands is on an incredible journey. It is already a strength, but what’s truly transformational is how the region is coming together to mature this vibrant ecosystem — attracting more capital and the talent needed to unlock unprecedented growth.”