Must-Know UK Startup Accelerators in 2026

Published:

Jan 23, 2024

Updated: Feb 05, 2026

Contents

Looking for a launchpad to skyrocket your business? You’re in the right place.

In the UK, the startup ecosystem is buzzing with some brilliant accelerator programmes. They’re all designed to set you on a course to success, turbocharge growth and connect you with a network of mentors and investors.

There are hundreds of accelerators in the UK, far too many for us to create a comprehensive list. Instead, in this blog post we list some of the major players we see most frequently at SeedLegals. Ready for the rundown? Let’s get started…

🤷 What's the difference between accelerators, incubators and bootcamps?

🤔 What factors should you consider when choosing an accelerator?

✖️ What are the top mistakes to avoid when you join an accelerator?

We answer these questions and more in our post: Startup accelerators, incubators and bootcamps: what are they and how do I choose one?

Top UK startup accelerators, incubators and bootcamps

This list is correct at the time of publication. New programmes emerge, existing programmes evolve or close. For the most up-to-date information, check websites or current industry databases such as Crunchbase and news-feeds such as TechCrunch.

In alphabetical order:

Baltic Ventures

balticventures.uk

Location

Liverpool, England

What they say

“Baltic Ventures is an early-stage tech accelerator based in the Baltic Triangle, Liverpool that supports game-changing founding teams who are building the solutions and businesses of tomorrow…  a four-month cohort programme, including £50,000 investment, weekly workshops, VC investor meetings, and mentorship.”

Applications

Applications for 2026 open in spring, but you can join the waitlist on the Baltic Ventures website. To be eligible, founding teams must be based in Liverpool.

Bethnal Green Ventures

bethnalgreenventures.com

Location

London

What they say

“We invest in ambitious early-stage tech for good founders. The journey of all our portfolio ventures starts on our programme. We then help you grow with further support and investment up to Series A.”

Applications

Applications for the 2026 programme open in May 2026. Find out more on the Bethnal Green Ventures website.

Breathable Cities

breathablecities.com

Location

London

What they say

“Breathable Cities is the world’s biggest accelerator programme for startups tackling air pollution. The programme launched in 2023 and lasts 14 weeks, supporting 10-12 startups with a technology product or service that helps improve air quality. Last year, 11 startups were selected, raising a combined £5 million and over half are now in commercial or local authority trials.”

Applications

Breathable Cities 2026 is now under construction and interest can be registered at the Breathable Cities website.

London & Partners Business Growth Programme​s

grow.london

Location

London

London & Partners operate various growth programmes for different types of companies:

  • Innovate Zero: For early-stage companies scaling commercial net zero and decarbonisation solutions.
  • Circular Partnerships: To catalyse partnerships between circular SMEs and public sector organisations.
  • Evo Fashion: Supports fashion businesses.
  • Global London: To support London’s small businesses, with a focus on underrepresented and underserved founders.
  • Expand to London: For international companies bringing their business to London.
  • Grow London Global: To take London-based businesses from local to global.
  • Innovation Fellowship: To develop a fresh innovation strategy.

What they say

“Grow London is part of London & Partners, the business growth and destination agency for London. Our mission is to create economic growth that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive.”

Applications

Find out more about the programmes and apply at the Grow London website.

Entrepreneur First

https://www.joinef.com

Location

London, Paris, Bangalore, San Francisco

Entrepreneur First currently runs two programmes:

  • Graduate: For students, recent graduates and people with less than two years of professional experience.
  • Core: For early career professionals, academics and PhD graduates with two or more years of experience.

What they say

“Found, don’t follow. Entrepreneur First invests in exceptional individuals to build startups from scratch.”

Applications

EF Graduate and Core are full-time, in person, startup building programs. EF Find is a weekend-long taste of EF’s startup building programme. Find out more and apply anytime at the EF website.

Hotbed

hotbed.co

Location

Online with some in-person events in London

What they say

“Each quarter, we host a free, bespoke 6 to 10 week programme for early stage founders:

  • Workshops delivered by experienced founders
  • Weekly opportunities to practise your pitch with investors
  • Track your WoW growth
  • Build a peer group of exceptional founders”

Applications

Hotbed is for founders who have already raised initial capital of at least £75,000 or have £75,000 in revenue over the past six months), and have launched a product. Find out more and register interest anytime at the Hotbed website.

NatWest Accelerator

natwest.com/business/business-services/entrepreneur-accelerator.html

Location

Across UK and Ireland

What they say

“The NatWest Accelerator supports and empowers UK entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to the next level. Our free Accelerator programme specialising in wrap-around support provides: one-to-one coaching, a programme of events, access to a network of like-minded peers, supported by our Ecosystem Managers, focused support, and use of our modern co-working spaces in one of our nationwide hubs.”

Applications

You don’t need to be a NatWest customer. Find out more and apply anytime at the NatWest website.

SETsquared

setsquared.co.uk/support-programmes

Location

Southampton, operates UK-wide

SETsquared currently offer these programmes:

  • Student Enterprise: Programme for students thinking about starting a business and/or to gain employability skills
  • ICURe: Pre-accelerator programme for researchers
  • Business Acceleration: Incubator for technology start-ups with high growth potential
  • Scale-Up: Support for innovative scaling SMEs
  • Telecoms Support: Accelerator for high-tech telecoms companies
  • Green Futures & Creative Tech: Investment and support for creative and green tech businesses in South West England
  • Hydrogen & Sustainable Transport: Support for start-ups and SMEs in the clean hydrogen and sustainable transport sectors
  • The FWD Project: Support for health and wellbeing businesses in the West of England
  • Future Economy Programme: For companies aiming to raise public and private co-investment

What they say

“The SETsquared Partnership is a world leading business incubator and enterprise partnership comprising six research-intensive universities: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.”

Applications

Visit the SETsquared website to find out more about the programmes and when they’re open for applications.

Tech Nation

technation.io

Location

London

Tech Nation currently have four programmes for tech entrepreneurs:

  • Creo: champions disabled founders and entrepreneurs innovating around disability
  • Climate: supports climate tech founders
  • Libra: empowers underrepresented founders
  • Future Fifty: for growing, late-stage tech ventures
  • Upscale: empowers the UK’s most ambitious Series A startups

What they say

“Tech Nation is the leading growth platform for tech insights, connections, collaboration and talent, empowering ambitious founders and their teams with the access and knowledge they need from seed stage to success story.”

Applications

There are application deadlines for each cohort:

  • Creo: Pre-registration now available for 2026
  • Climate: Applications open until midnight 1 February 2026
  • Libra: Applications open until midnight on March 17 2026
  • Future Fifty: Applications by invitation only
  • Upscale: applications open from 5 June to 30 July 2026

Find out more and apply at the Tech Nation website.

VenturePath

joinventurepath.com

Location

UK

What they say

“Exclusively for UK tech scaleups looking to grow, raise capital and scale faster, VenturePath supports founders through personalised business growth planning, leadership learning, a trusted community of fellow founders, a vetted expert network and £6bn+ of associated VCs, all available through a private app.”

Applications

You’ll need to have headquarters in the UK, revenue of more than £1 million and intend to raise Series A or beyond. Find out more and apply at the VenturePath website.

Zinc Venture Builder

https://www.zinc.vc/more-about-the-zinc-venture-builder/

Location

Primarily UK, but Zinc can back talent from across the globe by endorsing UK Startup/Innovator visas

What they say

“Zinc’s mission is ambitious: to back exceptional talent to build innovative commercial solutions that solve society’s most pressing issues. We believe the way to do this is by supporting talent through time, capital and connections; our commitment to this is evidenced through the offer to Founders on our Venture Builder.”

Applications

Visit the Zinc VC website to find out more about the programmes and when they’re open for applications.