The National Wealth Fund has invested £25m in British engineering company Rowden Technologies, marking its first investment directly supporting defence, national security and resilience.
The fund is the UK government’s policy bank, which deploys capital to drive investment into the UK’s clean energy and growth industries in support of government policy.
The funding will support the creation of 100 jobs over the next 12 months and the expansion of facilities for the Bristol-based firm, which designs and builds sensing and information systems for customers including the UK MoD and emergency services.
The new financing supports the next phase of Rowden’s growth as it increases production of deployable systems for edge environments, where connectivity is degraded, decisions are time-critical and reliable operation under pressure is essential.
This will be underpinned by a new advanced test and evaluation facility in the West Midlands, establishing a world-class UK capability in edge technologies.
“Rowden was founded on the belief that the UK is a place where enduring engineering companies can be built, delivering impact for national resilience, economic growth and skills,” says Rob Harper, CEO and founder of Rowden.
“We chose to partner with the National Wealth Fund because of the direct alignment with our mission and their mandate. The National Wealth Fund is uniquely set up to support ambitious UK companies operating in critical industries, given their long-term investment horizon and commitment to strengthening sovereign capability.”
Rowden works with UK government customers including the British Army, Cyber and Special Operations Command, and Scottish Fire and Rescue.
Last month, the UK government said it is meeting with leaders from banking, venture capital and strategic finance in the hopes of encouraging significant investment into the defence industry.
