UK National Wealth Fund backs SME with GBP25m investment

The UK National Wealth Fund (NWF) is investing GBP25 million in SME Rowden Technologies in an effort to support domestic production of sensing and information systems.  

Using the investment, announced by the NWF on 13 May, the company will scale its operations and increase “production of deployable systems for edge environments”.  

Two new sites will be established to deliver this scaled up production, with manufacturing expanding in the Southwest and a “new advanced test and evaluation facility” due to be built in the West Midlands. 

“From here, [Rowden] will scale out a UK engineering platform, amp up exports, and bring the private markets along for the ride”, Rowden’s Founder, Rob Harper said. 

The award marks the first investment in the defence and security sector from the NWF since it was established in October 2024. 

According to the NWF, investment in Rowden’s expansion aligns directly with its mandate to strengthen sovereign capabilities and reinforce supply chains.  

“Building and sustaining our sovereign capabilities is critical to the UK’s long-term security. With our backing, Rowden can accelerate its development of UK-built technologies for national resilience,” said Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the NWF. 

As well as increased manufacturing capacity, the new funding will see Rowden add 500 new employees by 2032. This will see it grow significantly beyond its current status as an SME, with around 160 staff at present. 

In response to DSEI Gateway’s request for comment on its future ambitions in the defence sector, the NWF said “Defence is one of a range of sectors we expect to be active in.  

We are continuing to get to know the sector to understand where there are opportunities for National Wealth Fund financing, working closely with the Ministry of Defence.” 

Going forward, the NWF says it expects its “role to evolve in response to the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.”