The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has revealed plans to launch the first IP-backed loans for high growth businesses in Scotland – allowing them to access vital funding using the value of their Intellectual Property as collateral, instead of traditional physical assets.

It follows a change in Scottish law earlier this year whereby the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 took effect, giving lenders the ability to accept effective security over IP rights.

Next year, loans ranging from £250,000 up to £10million, will improve the funding pipeline for high-growth Scottish businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure funding to drive their growth.

RBS’ parent NatWest Group launched IP-backed loans in 2024 under its NatWest brand and has already agreed to lend high growth businesses in England and Wales in excess of £22million total funding. These include companies specialising in cloud-based software services, smart system technology, state of the art engineering and AI gaming platforms.

Bristol-based prosthetics firm Open Bionics, which harnesses cutting-edge 3D printing and scanning technology to design and build affordable, custom-built bionic arms, secured a £600,000 IP-backed loan to open six new clinics in the US, helping more patients to access its life-changing Hero Arm.

Successful Liverpool gaming company Ripstone, known for producing a game based on popular Netflix programme ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, also negotiated a £600,000 finance package using its IP as collateral to support the development of a range of new games projects.

The new IP-backed loan offering has great potential for providing a boost to the interactive entertainment sector in Dundee, which is renowned for its thriving gaming industry, and many other health tech, life sciences, and robotics businesses across Scotland.

NatWest Group’s new Business Growth and Innovation Hotspots index has identified Edinburgh and Glasgow in the top 10 leading areas, and Aberdeen in the top 25, for mid-market activity in the UK driven mainly by tech and innovation companies.

Scotland’s climate tech sector employs 30,000 people and generates more than £15bn each year, with Edinburgh leading the way for this sector whilst Glasgow is noted for a high concentration of fintech businesses. Aberdeen is also noted as a pioneer for the transition to renewable energy, carbon capture and wider climate technologies.

Global leaders and experts will attend the annual event taking place at the bank’s Edinburgh Gogaburn headquarters on 6/7 October.

Judith Cruickshank, NatWest Group’s Scotland Board Chair, said “This new loan demonstrates how we are supporting innovation and businesses who are seeking investment home and abroad, whatever stage they are at in their lifecycle. As more companies invest in AI and digital capabilities, we expect to see an increased demand for technology driven services which may not have the same tangible assets as more traditional businesses. 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.”

The NatWest Group IP-backed loan offering has been specifically designed in partnership with IP valuation experts Inngot to support high-growth IP-rich but tangible asset light businesses by leveraging their IP as collateral for lending.

Inngot’s IP identification and valuation tools facilitate the ongoing delivery of the loan proposition, to support high-growth businesses by leveraging their intellectual property as collateral.

This innovative approach to lending provides companies with easier access to finance, allowing them to invest in R&D and scale their operations. IP loans are part of NatWest’s commitment to fuel high-growth businesses, providing them with the resources needed to achieve their growth ambitions.

Martin Brassell, CEO of Inngot, added: “IP has been called the ‘currency of the knowledge economy’ – it’s that important. However, for a currency, it’s not been very liquid in the past. This initiative improves liquidity by enabling businesses to borrow cost-effectively against the value of the intangible assets they own, and fund their creation of new ones to boost growth and competitiveness. We’re delighted that recent legal changes now make it possible for Scottish firms to benefit.”

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “Scotland has an incredibly strong track record of invention and innovation and it must be a shared endeavour to support our business founders start and scale-up.

“Access to capital is of course fundamental to businesses growth and the Scottish Government brought forward new legislation in 2023 to enable businesses to use their IP to raise finance in the same way as they use physical assets.

“It is welcome and exciting to see the Royal Bank of Scotland’s plans for an IP-backed loan and I look forward to it providing invaluable support to help kick-start the country’s greatest ideas and business innovation.”

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander commented: "This is welcome news from RBS that will widen the market that helps innovative companies unlock Scotland's extraordinary potential in technology and life sciences. Enabling Scottish businesses to leverage their intellectual property as collateral can remove the traditional barriers to finance which have held back some of our most innovative companies. This new funding source could help these IP-rich businesses scale up and compete on the global stage. It's particularly exciting to see this launching alongside the Scottish Global Investment Summit, showing international investors that Scotland is serious about supporting the businesses of the future."