Sci-Net first company to benefit from revolutionary IP-finance loan from NatWest Group

NatWest Group has just announced that Oxfordshire-based software company Sci-Net has become the first high growth company to be given an IP-backed loan from the UK’s largest commercial bank.

Sci-Net is borrowing  £700,000 from NatWest, via the innovative NatWest High Growth IP Loan proposition, which was launched in January 2024, with support from Inngot (click here to view the launch press release NatWest Group put out in January).

The revolutionary lending concept is the world’s first mass market loan which uses IP as collateral, with qualifying IP-rich scaleup and growth SME customers able to borrow from £250,000 if their IP qualifies.

What makes the new NatWest High Growth IP Finance product different is the way that the bank is taking the IP value into account as security for the loan. That value – and the IP’s suitability as collateral – is identified using Inngot’s range of IP evaluation tools, including a new collateral suitability checking tool which is powering NatWest’s ability to deliver IP-backed loans at scale.

Martin Brassell, Chief Executive of Inngot, says: “This marks the first time we have seen a UK bank willing to attribute collateral value directly to IP assets, at repayment levels that are highly affordable. The £250,000 starting point makes IP-based funding accessible to growth companies at real scale.”

He adds: “It rewards UK SMEs for investing in IP, and I believe it will help more companies to realise the importance and value of a strong IP strategy. I can’t think of a better way to encourage SMEs to take IP more seriously than to show them that they can borrow against its value.”

NatWest Group’s press release on the Sci-Net deal is below. You can visit Sci-Net here: Business Management & Cloud Infrastructure Solutions​ | Sci-Net