The value of intellectual property and other intangible assets to the UK economy needs to be untapped. The Intellectual Property Assets Coalition (IPAC) is on a mission to enable greater access to intangible asset finance, accelerate economic growth and drive Britain’s global innovation and investment.
It's time to bridge the knowledge assets gap
The UK’s most innovative companies can’t borrow against the very thing that makes them valuable. IPAC brings together leaders from FinTech, banking, insurance and policy to build consensus and inform the debate on how we fix that.
£15bn
UK growth capital credit gap, with a peak tech request single portion at £2.5bn.
58%
of all SME turnover is generated by IP-rich scale-ups, despite being just 0.5% of the SME population.
98%
of businesses with intellectual property have never considered using it for business financing.
€70-150bn
Estimated credit gap for IP-rich companies across the UK and Europe.
A paradox at the heart of UK growth
Since the 2008 financial crisis, banks have moved away from lending against intangible assets. Basel III, the standard framework for global banks’ relief against collateral, does not qualify IP as eligible.
As a result, a bank lending to an SME with no hard assets typically must set aside capital equal to 100% of the loan value. Taken together, existing Prudential Regulatory Authority rules have historically discouraged banks from lending to IP-rich businesses, despite their potential value and economic contribution.
Watch: the knowledge assets paradox
A short briefing explaining why our most innovative companies can’t borrow against the thing that makes them valuable.
Making the intangible, tangible
The Digital Novel Asset (DNA) turns a company’s IP and know-how into a physical and tangible asset: physically secured, independently valued, and bankable in the UK.
A real asset that meets the tests a lender and an insurer actually apply: existence, ownership, valuation and control.
01
Existence
The asset is identified, documented and can be shown to exist independently of the business itself.
02
Ownership
Clear, provable title, so a lender knows exactly what they’d be lending as security.
03
Valuation
Independently valued, so the asset carries a defined, defendable worth on the balance sheet.
04
Control
Physically secured, so the asset can be enforced against in the way any other collateral can.
the moment for change is now
Major change is already on the horizon, and IPAC exists to make the most of it.
New law, new accounting standard
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 means digital property can now officially be used as formal, legally binding collateral for loans. New rules under the FRS 102 accounting standard also allow digital property to be defined on the balance sheet as an asset with a defined value.
A £500m government pilot
In her final Mansion House speech, former Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £500 million for an IP-lending pilot with the British Business Bank over 12 months. Financial institutions taking part benefit from 70% coverage of the loan value under the ENABLE Guarantee.
Help us close the asset gap
IPAC is building the coalition that will scale up IP-backed lending in the UK. Join the leaders from FinTech, banking, insurance and policy already working on this.