Swansea University has reaffirmed its status as one of the UK's leading academic institutions for generating spinout companies, according to the latest Spotlight on Spinouts report by data analytics firm Beauhurst, published in March 2025.
The fifth annual report, sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering, highlights Swansea’s impressive track record of creating 58 spinout companies since 2011. Ranked ninth in the UK, Swansea University holds the top position in Wales.
For five years, the Spotlight on Spinouts report has served as a vital resource, offering in-depth analysis and valuable insights into trends in UK spinouts. By providing comprehensive quantitative data in a field that has traditionally lacked transparency, it continues to shed light on the evolving landscape of academic entrepreneurship.
The report analyses which universities are successfully generating spinouts, their geographic spread and intellectual property (IP) policies, as well as the top spinout sectors, investors and investees, survival rates and growth trajectories, Innovate UK grants, and spinout leadership composition including gender, age, and nationality.
In the UK, academic institutions are at the forefront of creating cutting-edge research and intellectual property, and spinouts are an important means of commercialising IP.
The UK government has recognised the importance of spinouts to the UK— as contributors to the economy and as a strategic source of new technologies. Following a government review into university spinouts, best practice policies for spin-out deal terms were highlighted in the November 2023 Independent Review of University Spin-out Companies, with Swansea University signing up as an early adopter in 2024.
Recent spinout successes from Swansea University include:
- Celtic Vascular – pioneers of AI-driven software that detects coronary heart disease with 92 per cent accuracy.
- Ail Arian – creators of a patented method for recovering silver from printed electronics.
- Corryn Biotechnologies – innovators in biomimetic wound dressings, enabling direct application at the point of care.
Professor Helen Griffiths, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, said: "Our long-standing reputation in research and innovation foregrounds our enterprise ambitions at Swansea University, and it is an honour to be recognised once again among the UK’s leading institutions for spinout success. This reflects our commitment to translating research into real-world impact.
“Guided by our Enterprise Strategy 2023-28, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where entrepreneurship thrives, ensuring that our spinout companies continue to drive economic growth and create lasting benefits for individuals and communities in Wales and beyond."