University of Bristol among top institutions for spinout companies

Published by

Peter Davison

University of Bristol

The University of Bristol recorded the joint highest growth in the number of spinout companies, rising from 42 to 47 in past year, according to a new report.

The report - Spotlight on Spinouts 2023 by The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub - also highlights that the University of Bristol is the sixth highest producer of spinout companies, with 67 created since 2011.

Spinouts are companies formed based on academic research generated within a university. These companies can effectively commercialise successful research and channel millions of pounds back into their respective universities, while benefiting local economic development and creating new skilled jobs in the area.

Dr Jon Hunt, executive director of research & rnterprise at the University of Bristol, said: ”It is fantastic to see the University of Bristol performing so well when it comes to developing spinout businesses.

"We have seen some fantastic companies land millions of pounds in funding, drawing huge inward investment into the area.

“The government has recognised the key role that spinouts play in the economy, committing to strengthening the spinout pipeline in the UK.”

Elsewhere, the Spotlight on Spinouts report recorded that UK spinouts attracted a total equity investment of £2.13 billion in 2022.

Minister for science at the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman MP, said: “This report shows that with the right backing, we can make a success of spinning out businesses in every part of the country.

"That’s why we are committed to increasing public expenditure on R&D to £20 billionn per annum by 2024/2025, and we are delivering our £280m Higher Education Innovation Fund to support spin outs.

“As this report helpfully highlights - we are determined to unlock new sources of investment to accelerate this important sector even more in the coming years.”

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.