Royal Bank of Scotland will begin offering the country’s first intellectual property–backed loans from 2026, allowing high-growth businesses to secure funding against the value of their intangible assets rather than physical collateral.
The move follows the introduction of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023, which came into force earlier this year and gives lenders the ability to accept security over IP rights such as patents, software, and trademarks.
Under the plan, RBS will make loans between £250,000 and £10 million available to scaling Scottish businesses in technology, life sciences, and clean energy — sectors that often struggle to access traditional finance due to limited fixed assets.
The initiative mirrors the NatWest Group’s IP-backed lending model launched in England and Wales in 2024, through which more than £22 million has already been deployed to innovation-driven companies. Among early recipients were Bristol prosthetics pioneer Open Bionics, which used a £600,000 loan to expand into the US, and Liverpool-based games developer Ripstone, which secured similar backing to fund new titles.
Judith Cruickshank, NatWest Group’s Scotland Board Chair, said the expansion north of the border was designed to help innovation-focused businesses scale without losing control. “Our IP-backed loan offering is a key example of how NatWest is supporting Scotland’s digital economy, helping IP-rich firms to accelerate investment and facilitate growth without diluting ownership,” she said.
The programme is delivered in partnership with Inngot, specialists in IP valuation and commercialisation. The company’s CEO, Martin Brassell, said: “IP has been called the ‘currency of the knowledge economy’ — it’s that important. This initiative improves liquidity by enabling businesses to borrow cost-effectively against the value of the intangible assets they own.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes welcomed the announcement, calling it a natural evolution of Scotland’s innovation ecosystem. “Access to capital is fundamental to growth, and it is exciting to see RBS building on the legal reforms that enable businesses to use their IP to raise finance,” she said.
The launch coincides with the Scottish Global Investment Summit at RBS’s Gogarburn headquarters, where investors and policymakers are convening to explore long-term capital strategies for sustainable innovation. The timing underscores Scotland’s growing visibility in global capital markets — particularly in technology, renewable energy, and climate solutions.
According to NatWest’s Business Growth and Innovation Hotspots Index, Edinburgh and Glasgow rank among the UK’s top ten mid-market centres for technology-led growth, while Aberdeen sits within the top 25. Scotland’s climate technology sector alone supports more than 30,000 jobs and generates over £15 billion annually, with Edinburgh leading in software-led innovation and Glasgow home to a dense fintech cluster.
Analysts suggest the addition of IP-backed lending could help address the long-standing “equity gap” for Scottish scale-ups. Research from the UK Intellectual Property Office estimates that 80% of business value in developed economies now resides in intangible assets, yet these remain largely excluded from lending decisions — a barrier the new legislation and RBS product directly seek to remove.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the move “shows international investors that Scotland is serious about supporting the businesses of the future.”
RBS expects to open registration for interested companies through its website in early 2026.
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