Growing Together: Our plan to support UK growth

To build the economy of the future we need to back the innovators who will power it. UK rates of business creation are solid, but too many brilliant ideas fail because founders can’t access the support and capital needed to scale invention into commercialisation.

What we’re doing:
 

• We’re the UK’s leading bank for start-ups and operate our free Accelerator programme across 12 UK locations and online.
• In 2025, we signed partnerships with four leading Universities, to provide targeted support for early-stage businesses, student entrepreneurs and spinouts. We’re committed to a further six partnerships by 2027, helping to create powerful innovation clusters.
• We’re launching specialist services in venture banking and expanding IP lending, so high-potential firms can access finance that reflects the value they’re building.

Helping Mid-Market Companies (MMCs) to achieve their full potential will deliver a significant increase in UK growth - just 1% growth in this segment could add £35bn to UK economy, with £24bn of that outside the south-east of England.

What we’re doing:
 

• We’re the number one bank for mid-sized companies, supporting them with more relationship managers than any other bank.
• We convened the Mid-Market Growth Council, bringing together business leaders, representative bodies and Government to help give a voice to this segment and focus on action that will support growth.
• We’ve committed £2bn to the UK Government’s new UK Export Fund to help more mid-sized businesses invest and grow internationally - because exports are one of the fastest routes to scale, resilience, and productivity.

Financial confidence is a vital, often underestimated, part of a strong economic infrastructure. UK households are the biggest engine of economic growth through their spending and investment decisions. But almost half of UK adults say they don’t feel confident managing their money.

What we’re doing:
 

• As a partner to 20 million customers, we’re helping people invest for their futures and build financial capability.
• We’re expanding our award-winning Financial Foundations programme to help support 50,000 people with free financial education and guidance throughout 2026 in their workplace or community group.
• Our range of initiatives, delivered by trained NatWest colleagues, includes Financial Foundations and NatWest Thrive, which builds confidence and financial wellbeing for young people; and free one-to-one financial health checks.

Huge potential is spread across the UK, but economic growth is not spread evenly across the UK’s nations and regions.

What we’re doing:
 

• With over 20 million customers across NatWest Group, we’re already a trusted partner to many of the people building local economies.
• More than 1,000 relationship managers across the UK are supporting businesses in communities - the largest network of any UK bank.
• Our seven Regional Boards connect the bank to the people we serve – they’re designed to help connect communities and build networks – bringing together business leaders, universities, local institutions, investors and policymakers to turn regional ambitions into action.

Growth needs foundations. Roads, rail, digital connectivity and housing capacity all play a part in accelerating broad-based, sustainable growth.

What we’re doing: 

• We’re the number one loan arranger and loan provider for UK Infrastructure and Project Finance by both volume and value. We bring regional and sector expertise to connect the right partners and help unlock long-term delivery.
• We’ve announced a new £10 billion funding package for the UK’s social housing sector before the end of 2028, which when deployed will bring NatWest Group’s total funding to social housing in the UK to over £35 billion since 2018. 
• We were first to market with our pioneering social rent loan, supporting housing associations that are already NatWest customers with  £1 billion to boost building of social rent homes across the UK.