Fundraising Fox
Swindon · Seed–Growth · 5 people tracked
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Investment thesis
As the UK's national innovation agency, Innovate UK backs promising deep tech businesses across the UK's priority sectors. It offers funding, expert support and connections to help innovative UK-registered companies start, scale and stay in the UK. Programmes cited include feasibility funding through the Research and Development Partnerships Fund under the Farming Innovation Programme, and support for micro and small businesses developing affordable, adoptable and investable innovations in Advanced Connectivity Technologies, backed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It also runs innovation loans for scaling businesses.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 2, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from curatedLeo Castellanos is an investment and growth professional at Innovate UK with over a decade of experience in venture capital and technology innovation. He previously invested in early-stage and growth-stage startups at SAATCHiNVEST, focusing on SaaS, e-commerce, consumer technology, IoT, AI, and edtech sectors. Castellanos co-founded Comparabien, a Latin American financial product comparison platform that expanded to eight countries, and holds an Executive MBA in Finance and Strategy; he also lectures on venture capital and fundraising at business schools and serves as a speaker and judge in business plan competitions.
Serves as Chief Operating Officer, handling corporate partnership inquiries.
Margarita Skarkou is a Senior Principal at DWS Group leading infrastructure private equity investments, with experience investing across seed-stage through buyout in companies spanning technology, sustainability, and infrastructure sectors. She serves as a Board Director advising scale-ups and government entities, and holds Non-executive positions with UKRI and Innovate UK's Credit Supervisory Committee. Skarkou holds an MEng in Civil Engineering and CIMA certification in Business Accounting.
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Innovate UK Innovation Loans invest at?
- Innovate UK Innovation Loans invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What sectors does Innovate UK Innovation Loans focus on?
- Innovate UK Innovation Loans focuses on AgTech, Deep Tech.
- Where is Innovate UK Innovation Loans located?
- Innovate UK Innovation Loans is headquartered in Swindon, GB.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
from their channelThriving Places: Newham
Innovate UK
Thriving Places: Perth and Kinross
Innovate UK
Thriving Places: Westminster
Innovate UK
Thriving Places: Greater Manchester
Innovate UK
Thriving Places: Runnymede Heathrow
Innovate UK
Thriving Places: Belfast City Council
Innovate UK
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