About Doc Abode

Doc Abode is a care coordination platform purpose-built for NHS out-of-hospital services. Its real-time operational layer gives coordinators live visibility of workforce capacity, clinical skill mix and patient demand — supporting faster, more responsive clinical allocation across out-of-hospital unscheduled care services such as Urgent Community Response (UCR), Virtual Wards, Hospital at Home and Discharge-to-Assess pathways.

Founded in 2016 by Dr Taz Aldawoud, an NHS GP, Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) and NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow, Doc Abode can point to a substantial body of evidence of its impact. An analysis conducted by an early adopter, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, found a 120% increase in patient visits per shift, 71% growth in service capacity, and a 50% reduction in temporary staffing costs in the period following implementation — findings subsequently referenced by UCLPartners in their evaluation work. (Full independent case study: Health Innovation Network, January 2026).

Yet Doc Abode’s most valuable assets — its software, clinical algorithms and NHS operational expertise — remained invisible to traditional lenders. Through NatWest and Inngot, the company found a financing route better matched to the nature of its assets.

The Challenge

Like many technology businesses, Doc Abode had structured its early-stage debt against future HMRC R&D Tax Credit receipts — a common but suboptimal arrangement for high tech firms. As deployments expanded and clinical evidence strengthened, the financing structure was not keeping pace with the company’s growth trajectory. This created an opportunity to refinance on better terms and unlock capital for the next phase growth.

An equity round was possible, but it would mean surrendering a meaningful share of the company at the moment its value was climbing fastest. An investor introduced Doc Abode to NatWest, and to a model that changed the picture entirely.

The Solution

NatWest, in partnership with Inngot, offers a High Growth IP-backed loan — launched January 2024 — enabling IP-rich scaleups and SMEs to borrow from £250,000 to £10m, secured against up to 50% of qualifying intangible assets as independently valued by Inngot’s online platform.

Qualifying assets include software, patents, trademarks, copyrights and registered designs.
For Doc Abode, this meant the assets that actually drive its value could finally function as collateral.

The process required Doc Abode to systematically articulate how it creates and protects value — not just financially, but across its full IP landscape. Dr Aldawoud found this strategically clarifying as well as commercially decisive:

It was completely new to me. I’d never heard of IP-backed lending before. The ‘aha!’ moment was realising it could shift the structure away from tangible collateral or Personal Guarantees — and instead evidence the value drivers a software business actually has.

The communication between NatWest and Inngot was seamless — an integrated approach. The questions brought everything to the surface and allowed us to be more systematic. It strengthened our IP governance, just by going through that process.

Dr Taz Aldawoud - Founding CEO, Doc Abode

The Result

Significant finance package approved by NatWest

Better terms, growth capital, no dilution

NatWest consolidated Doc Abode’s existing debt at significantly better interest rates, and also lent additional growth capital that allowed the company to hire three new staff to accelerate NHS deployments, with no equity dilution and no Personal Guarantees required.

This was the most founder-friendly route: reconsolidating existing debt more efficiently and having sustainable growth funding — without dilution. It felt almost too good to be true, and then we found out more about it. When you realise how valuable your IP is through this process, it’s a no-brainer. I just don’t think anyone knows about it — and they should.

Dr Taz Aldawoud - Founding CEO, Doc Abode

Doc Abode is a fast-growing UK health tech business we’re proud to support. Built on Dr Taz Aldawoud’s experience as a GP and NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow, Doc Abode’s platform delivers proven productivity gains for NHS urgent and community care teams. This funding will accelerate the company’s expansion, supporting more trusts to achieve better capacity visibility and system performance.

Neil Brophy - NatWest Senior Relationship Manager, Tech, Media and Telecoms