The organisation announced it will be closing its doors from 31 March 2023. Tech Nation’s core grant funding from DCMS is being awarded to Barclays Bank. With this foundation removed, Tech Nation’s remaining activities are not viable on a standalone basis.

As a direct result of the DCMS grant withdrawal, Tech Nation will be ceasing all existing operations through a carefully planned wind-down and has commenced a redundancy consultation process. Tech Nation is also actively seeking interested parties to acquire its portfolio of assets to take forward in a new guise.

Tech Nation has supported over 5,000 businesses in the UK tech scene. Alumni include big names such as Monzo, Revolut, Depop, Bloom & Wild, Zilch, Just Eat, Darktrace, Marshmallow, Ocado, Skyscanner, Peak AI and Deliveroo.

As a government-backed national asset, Tech Nation has delivered one of the best ROIs for the taxpayer, delivering £15 return on every £1 funded by the UK government.

A spokesperson for the organisation said: “Within the UK tech ecosystem, Tech Nation has been laser-focussed on accelerating scaleup growth. Scaleups create over 90% of all UK tech jobs and are what drive investment, productivity improvements, export and regional success.

“The market for startup support has matured, however there continues to be no single organisation which focuses on tech scaleups as Tech Nation does. And we’re proud that the scaleups Tech Nation has supported over the decade have disproportionately thrived.

“While 80% of startups fail within their first 2-5 years, over 95% of startups on Tech Nation’s accelerator programs have gone on to scale. More than a third of all tech unicorns and decacorns created in the UK have graduated from a Tech Nation program, collectively raising over £28bn so far in venture capital and capital markets.”

Stephen Ingledew OBE, chairman of FinTech Scotland, said: “Tech Nation’s impactful leadership and valuable initiatives have made a significant contribution to the successful development of the technology ecosystem across the UK, particularly in providing important impetus to many entrepreneurs and innovators scaling new innovative enterprises across a range of sectors for the emerging new UK economy.

“Gerard and the team should be extremely proud of their achievements as evidenced by the many new tech enterprises growing across all corners of the UK, leaving an impressive economic legacy which will benefit the regions through employment and growth for many years to come.”