Scottish Widows amongst first UK Workplace Pension Provider to back British Growth Venture Capital across technology sectors

•    Aberdeen Investments appoints IP Group to manage a UK venture growth portfolio within CG Scottish Widows Growth LTAF

•    The mandate launches with new investments in areas of strategic importance to the UK, including quantum computing, advanced battery technology and AI-enabled healthcare
 

Scottish Widows, Aberdeen Investments and IP Group are delighted to announce their first investments to connect workplace pension savings with high-growth, innovative UK science and technology companies via the CG Scottish Widows Growth LTAF (the ‘Fund’).
 

The Fund is amongst the first UK pension schemes to actively allocate members’ capital to UK venture growth by connecting patient institutional capital with high-potential British businesses. 
 

Aberdeen Investments, which manages the growth sub-fund for Scottish Widows, has appointed IP Group to manage a UK Venture growth portfolio within the fund, helping bring private markets exposure to workplace pension savers. 
 

It demonstrates a model that can be expanded over time, increasing the flow of long-term pension capital into high-growth UK businesses, as part of the Fund’s broader global private markets remit.
 

The mandate is designed to support stronger retirement outcomes for members and address a critical constraint on the UK innovation economy: the availability of meaningful follow-on funding for companies ready to commercialise and expand.
 

The first investments from IP Group will be deployed across several strategically important areas of UK innovation, spanning quantum computing, advanced battery technology and AI-enabled healthcare. 
 

Initial investments are expected to include Oxford Quantum Circuits, which is building commercially available quantum computing systems; Quantum Motion, which is building scalable silicon-based quantum computers designed for mass adoption; Nyobolt, whose ultra-fast-charging battery technology is advancing high-performance energy storage; and Genomics Limited which is applying AI, machine learning and large-scale genetic datasets to transform preventative healthcare and drug discovery.
 

Together, these investments show how pension capital can help category-defining UK companies move from scientific leadership to commercial scale.

Peter Fitzgerald, Chief Investment Officer, Scottish Widows, said: "We believe pension savers should be able to benefit from the growth and innovation taking place across the UK. Our  proposition helps connect our workplace pension customers' long-term savings with some of Britain's most innovative, high-growth companies, giving them access to investment opportunities that have traditionally been available mainly to institutional investors."
 

Nalaka De Silva, Head of Private Markets Solutions, Aberdeen Investments, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with IP Group to manage this portfolio on behalf of the Scottish Widows Growth LTAF. The UK has no shortage of scientific excellence and does not lack entrepreneurship or talent to develop globally relevant ideas. What competitive companies have lacked is sufficient pools of patient domestic capital to help them expand and grow. This partnership turns intent into investment: We are extremely proud to deliver one of the first active allocations by a UK DC workplace pension proposition to back British science and technology companies for the long-term benefit of pension members.”
 

Greg Smith, Chief Executive Officer of IP Group plc, said: “Our partnership with Aberdeen Investments and Scottish Widows on this growth fund will connect long-term pension capital with world-class British innovation. We are helping create a pathway for millions of pension savers to participate in the value created by the next generation of technology leaders. It’s fantastic that the fund’s first UK investments span such important areas including quantum computing, clean energy and healthcare innovation, sectors where the UK has the potential to build globally significant companies. We believe this is only the beginning of a much larger opportunity to unlock growth, support economic prosperity and deliver attractive long-term returns for savers.”

Media enquiries

Jemma Jackson
Head of Campaigns and Media, Aberdeen
jemma.jackson@aberdeenplc.com 
07776 204 610

Yoosof Farah
Campaigns and Media Relations Manager, Aberdeen
yoosof.farah@aberdeenplc.com 
07345 441 771
 

Notes for editors
 

About IP Group
 

IP Group accelerates the impact of science for a better future. As the most active UK based, early-stage science and technology investor, we develop and support some of the world’s most exciting businesses in healthtech, deeptech and cleantech. Including through Parkwalk, the UK's largest growth EIS fund manager, we back world-changing innovation emerging in leading universities and research institutions. Our specialist investment team combines sector expertise with an international approach. Together we have a strong track record of success, having backed high-profile companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc, Hinge Health, Featurespace, First Light Fusion, Hysata, and Oxa. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.

About Scottish Widows
 

Founded in 1815, Scottish Widows is part of Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest digital bank and financial services group. With around £300bn in total assets under administration and more than 6.5 million customers, Scottish Widows’ award-winning product range includes workplace and individual pensions, annuities, life cover, critical illness and income protection, as well as savings and investment products.
 

Scottish Widows has more than 1.75m digitally registered customers. The Scottish Widows Platform is trusted by financial advisers as the home for the pension and investment assets of more than 170k clients.
 

About Aberdeen Investments:
 

Aberdeen Investments is a specialist asset manager that focuses on areas where we have both strength and scale across public and private markets, including credit, specialist equities and real assets. 
 

Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives and working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
 

As at 30 September 2026, Aberdeen Investments managed £393.2bn on behalf of clients, including insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, independent wealth managers, pension funds, platforms, banks and family offices.
 

www.aberdeeninvestments.com
 

About Aberdeen Group
 

Aberdeen is a leading Wealth & Investments group, working to help millions of customers and clients turn their financial goals into reality. As at 30 September 2026, Aberdeen managed and administered c.£578.9bn of client and customer assets across its three core business, interactive investor, Adviser and Investments.
 

www.aberdeenplc.com 
 

The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and you may get back less than the amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future results. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each investor and may be subject to change in the future. We recommend that you seek financial advice prior to making an investment decision.
 

The details contained here are for information purposes only and should not be considered as an offer, investment recommendation, or solicitation to deal in any investments or funds and does not constitute investment research, investment recommendation or investment advice in any jurisdiction. Any research or analysis used to derive, or in relation to, the above information has been procured by us for our own use, without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific investor, and may have been acted on for own purpose. No warranty is given as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information contained in this communication and no liability for errors or omissions in such information. Readers must make assessments to the relevance, accuracy and adequacies of the information contained in this communication and make independent investigations, as they may consider necessary or appropriate for the purpose of such assessments. Any opinion or estimate contained in this communication, are made on a general basis.   No information contained herein constitutes investment, tax, legal or any other advice, or an invitation to apply for securities in any jurisdiction where such an offer or invitation is unlawful, or in which the person making such an offer is not qualified to do so.
 

Issued by abrdn Investments Limited, registered in Scotland (SC108419) at 1 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LL and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.