Summary

• Aberdeen Investments has appointed IP Group to manage a UK venture-growth portfolio within the Scottish Widows Growth LTAF.
• Initial investments are expected to include Oxford Quantum Circuits, Quantum Motion, Nyobolt, and Genomics.
• The initiative connects workplace pension savings with private technology companies through investment products introduced in February.

Scottish Widows is opening a route for workplace pension savings to finance British technology companies, with Aberdeen Investments appointing IP Group to manage a specialist UK venture-growth portfolio covering quantum computing, advanced batteries, and AI-enabled healthcare.

The mandate forms part of the CG Scottish Widows Growth Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF), managed by Aberdeen Investments. IP Group will identify and manage investments in growing British science and technology companies, using its experience of financing businesses developing commercial applications from research-intensive technologies.

Initial investments are expected to include Oxford Quantum Circuits, Quantum Motion, Nyobolt, and Genomics, according to an IP Group regulatory announcement published on 2 November. The companies operate in different technology markets, although each requires substantial investment to develop products and expand commercial operations.

The individual investment amounts and deployment timetable have not been disclosed. The new mandate establishes the intended allocation strategy and identifies the first expected companies, rather than specifying how much capital has already been transferred to each business.

Quantum companies receive a new source of capital

Oxford Quantum Circuits and Quantum Motion are developing different approaches to quantum computing, where engineering progress requires specialist facilities, complex hardware, and technical teams capable of addressing problems that remain unresolved in commercial deployment.

Oxford Quantum Circuits works with superconducting quantum technology, while Quantum Motion is developing processors based on silicon approaches. These architectures involve different manufacturing and operational characteristics, but both must improve reliability and establish useful computing capabilities before the market can expand substantially.

The investment requirements can be considerable because building a quantum computer involves more than producing an individual processor. Researchers and engineers need control electronics, supporting equipment, fabrication processes, software, and facilities in which systems can be assembled and tested.

Developing these capabilities can extend over several funding rounds before customers generate sufficient income to support the full cost of operations. Access to investors prepared to commit capital over longer periods can therefore influence whether a company has the resources to complete the transition from research into commercial products.

IP Group already has exposure to the two companies through its existing portfolio. Its experience in financing research-led businesses provides a basis for assessing the technical and commercial progress of potential investments, although future returns remain dependent on the companies’ development and the market for their technologies.

The involvement of workplace pension assets creates another potential funding channel, connecting long-term savings with businesses whose products may develop over many years.

Batteries and healthcare broaden the portfolio

Nyobolt develops high-power battery technology intended for applications requiring rapid charging, substantial energy delivery, and repeated use. Potential markets include robotics, industrial equipment, and mobility, where the ability to return equipment to operation quickly can affect productivity.

In such applications, the commercial performance of a battery is determined by more than its energy capacity. Charging speed, operating life, thermal behaviour, safety, and reliability influence whether equipment can meet the requirements of its intended users.

Manufacturing battery technology at commercial volumes also requires investment in production processes and quality assurance. A successful demonstration may establish promising performance, while sustained customer supply depends on the ability to reproduce those characteristics consistently.

Genomics operates in healthcare and life sciences, applying genetic information, AI, and machine learning to research and the development of applications involving disease risk and pharmaceutical discovery.

These activities involve different forms of scientific and commercial validation. Healthcare applications may depend on research partnerships, access to appropriate data, evidence of performance, and regulatory arrangements relevant to their intended use.

The four expected investments therefore represent exposure to several areas of British deep technology rather than one common product market. Their development cycles, customers, and requirements for commercial expansion differ, creating diversification opportunities alongside distinct technical and investment risks.

Private markets enter workplace investment products

Scottish Widows introduced Lifetime Investment Plus and Lifetime Investment Extra in February 2026, extending the investment options available to members of its workplace pension arrangements.

The products incorporate private market investments through specialist LTAFs. These funds are designed to accommodate assets that may be held for longer periods and cannot necessarily be bought or sold as readily as publicly traded shares.

Lifetime Investment Plus initially allocated approximately 11% to private markets, while Lifetime Investment Extra allocated around 23%. Those figures refer to exposure across several private asset classes, rather than the proportion invested exclusively in British technology companies.

The CG Scottish Widows Growth LTAF targets assets including private equity, venture capital, infrastructure equity, and private credit. A separate diversified credit LTAF is managed by BNP Paribas Asset Management and serves different investment objectives.

Aberdeen Investments manages the growth fund, while the new IP Group mandate gives a specialist manager responsibility for selecting and managing a UK venture-growth portfolio within that broader investment structure.

The arrangement allows the pension provider to introduce exposure to businesses requiring specialist investment expertise without managing every company directly. Investment selection and monitoring remain important because private businesses can be difficult to value and may not offer a straightforward opportunity to sell holdings when circumstances change.

Long investment horizons influence the strategy

Workplace pension savings can remain invested over many years, providing an opportunity to hold assets whose commercial development does not match the shorter reporting cycles of public markets.

However, private investments also introduce additional considerations involving liquidity, diversification, valuation, fees, and the uncertainty of future returns. Pension providers and investment managers must assess those characteristics in relation to the interests of members, rather than treating support for domestic industry as a substitute for investment discipline.

Growing technology businesses may benefit from access to such capital because commercial expansion can require substantial funding after early scientific milestones have been achieved.

A company developing a new computing system, for example, may need additional engineers and manufacturing capacity before customer revenue can support its operations. Investors seeking quick liquidity may be less willing to finance that period than institutions able to hold investments over longer timeframes.

UK pension policy has encouraged greater investment in private markets, including through the voluntary Mansion House Compact and the subsequent Mansion House Accord. The Accord’s original signatories committed to aiming for at least 10% of relevant default defined contribution assets in private markets by 2030, including 5% in UK private markets.

Those commitments do not require every provider to adopt the same investment portfolio. Scottish Widows’ new venture-growth mandate is an individual commercial arrangement within the broader industry movement towards private assets.

Specialist management connects capital with technology

IP Group invests in companies developing scientific and technical innovations, including businesses emerging from research organisations. Its existing portfolio and sector expertise give it experience in assessing technology markets that may have limited commercial histories.

Under the new mandate, that expertise will be applied to investments held within the Scottish Widows growth fund. Aberdeen Investments remains responsible for managing the wider LTAF and coordinating its exposure across different asset classes.

Scottish Widows’ workplace pension products provide the route through which participating members gain exposure to the portfolio. The resulting structure involves several organisations, each carrying different responsibilities for pension provision, fund management, and specialist investment selection.

The initial portfolio will concentrate on British companies operating in technologies considered strategically important, while future investment decisions will depend on available opportunities and the mandate’s financial objectives.

Although the companies identified on 2 November have substantial technical ambitions, their commercial outcomes remain uncertain. Quantum systems must demonstrate practical capabilities, battery technologies need reliable manufacturing and customer adoption, and healthcare applications require scientific validation alongside sustainable business models.

The new arrangement creates a mechanism for financing those development stages through institutional capital. Its results will be measured through investments completed, the performance of the underlying businesses, and the returns ultimately achieved for pension savers.