New research from Barclays paints a clear picture of where the UK innovation economy is heading: towards defence. More than half of UK tech and innovation firms (57%) are now targeting defence and national security markets, with 62% actively adapting their products and services to meet sector requirements. Defence-focused businesses recorded a 13.1% increase in cash inflows year-on-year, against a 9.5% fall for Science and Engineering R&D firms more broadly, a sharp divergence that reflects where demand is concentrating. The data, drawn from a survey of 501 UK tech and innovation firms alongside analysis of Barclays’ anonymised data from around…
