From Professor Nick Jennings, Vice-Chancellor & President, Loughborough University; Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor & President, University of Warwick; Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor & Principal, University of Birmingham 

This letter was originally published by the Financial Times website on 31 January 2025.

Lex (“Clearer rules would help Oxford and Cambridge spinouts spur UK growth”, January 29) is correct to focus on the potential economic benefits of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc rail line. However, it is a mistake to think these growth opportunities are only to be found in the so-called Golden Triangle of London, Cambridge and Oxford in the South East. 

There are equivalent and arguably greater prospects to be delivered by supporting universities and technology hubs in other regions. 

Universities in the Midlands are producing as many spinouts as Oxford or Cambridge, founded on world-class science. Over 120 university spinouts currently operate in our region, having secured tens of millions of pounds in investment. While there is an appetite for these spinouts to stay in the region, many spinouts are forced to move south where investment prospects are more attractive. British Business Bank analysis suggests a spinout in the Golden Triangle raises 6.3 times more capital compared to a Midlands spinout. 

Those spinouts that stay in the Midlands are often valued at a significant discount, as an indirect function of where they are headquartered, irrespective of the quality of science. 

This exodus deprives Midlands communities of jobs and economic growth opportunities. Critically, and one might say irrationally, it means investors are also forgoing potential returns by crowding around more expensive locations with bigger media and political profiles. 

With a can-do mindset and proper support from the government and institutional investors, including connecting infrastructure, a thriving ecosystem of university spinouts can deliver growth in different regions right across the country. That is what we are determined to deliver.