You wait 30 years for a British sovereign wealth fund, and then two come along at once

The incoming Lord Mayor of London has called for a new sovereign wealth fund to back early-stage high-growth UK businesses.

He has pointed to the UK being the European leader in the creation of “unicorns” (as noted in our recent update), but that the exit route for many of these businesses is to be acquired by US and Canadian funds. A key part of his concern is the loss of IP and skilled labour from the British economy. This will be particularly important as 2023 promises to be a bumper year for UK biotechs (as noted in our recent update).

As he also notes, the opposition Labour Party is already proposing the creation of a new government fund to invest in clean energy as part of their new Industrial Strategy (as noted in our recent update).

Neither the Lord Mayor nor (currently) the Labour Party have the power to bring either of these funds into being. However, it may well be a sign of the way in which the wind is blowing, particularly as the UK seeks to rebalance its economy post Brexit.