Woodford 'absolutely delighted' with Chancellor's plans for UK start-ups

A 'sensible' Budget

Jayna Rana
clock • 1 min read

Neil Woodford, manager of the £695m Woodford Patient Capital trust, has welcomed yesterday's Autumn Budget announcement of a £2.5bn investment fund to help knowledge-intensive businesses access scale-up capital.

In his first Autumn Budget speech yesterday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced plans to boost investment in Britain's smaller and higher-risk businesses. He said the government is publishing an action plan to unlock over £20bn of new investment in UK knowledge-intensive, scale-up businesses. This will be done through a new fund in the British Business Bank seeded with £2.5bn of public money. Woodford said he is "absolutely delighted about the announcement...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Investment

Darius McDermott: The lessons from 2025 and opportunities ahead

Darius McDermott: The lessons from 2025 and opportunities ahead

'2025 has been a salutary lesson in the difficulty of timing markets'

Darius McDermott
clock 07 January 2026 • 5 min read
Trump, Modi and US-India trade tensions – who cares?

Trump, Modi and US-India trade tensions – who cares?

A bottom-up approach to finding hidden gems

Gabriel Sacks
clock 02 January 2026 • 4 min read
2026: Year of the racehorse or workhorse?

2026: Year of the racehorse or workhorse?

'Every year brings its challenges, and 2026 will be no exception'

Russell Andrews
clock 02 January 2026 • 4 min read