National Wealth Fund invests £25 million in UK engineering business Rowden to create 500 jobs and scale sovereign technology for national security and resilience

• Marks the National Wealth Fund’s first investment supporting defence, national security and resilience.
• Funds two new sites in Southwest and the West Midlands, expanding Rowden’s manufacturing footprint.
• Accelerates the expansion of Rowden’s exports of UK-developed sensing and information systems.
   

The National Wealth Fund today announces a £25 million investment in British engineering company, Rowden, its first directly supporting defence, national security and resilience. The funding will support the creation of 100 jobs over the next 12 months and the expansion of facilities for the Bristol-based firm, which designs and builds sensing and information systems for customers including the UK MoD and emergency services.

Strengthening sovereign and strategic capabilities is one of the National Wealth Fund’s core ambitions, investing in companies that build, scale and retain critical technologies within the UK, reinforcing domestic supply chains and long-term national resilience. 

The financing announced today supports the next phase of Rowden’s growth, as it increases production of deployable systems for edge environments, where connectivity is degraded, decisions are time-critical, and reliable operation under pressure is essential. This will be underpinned by a new advanced test and evaluation facility in the West Midlands, establishing a world-class UK capability in edge technologies.

From its engineering and manufacturing base in the Southwest, the company is scaling rapidly, with plans to add 500 new roles by 2032 to meet demand from UK and international customers.

Rowden is one of the fastest-growing engineering companies in Europe and currently employs 160 highly skilled people. It was bootstrapped to its current size by founder and CEO Rob Harper, who joined the British Army aged 16 and was awarded an MBE for work in counter-terrorism. 

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP said:

"Rowden is exactly the kind of British engineering company we want to back - innovative, veteran-founded and delivering for our national security. The National Wealth Fund’s investment will help scale world-class sensing and information systems, creating hundreds of high-skilled jobs across the Southwest and West Midlands, and strengthening the industrial foundations that our Armed Forces depend on. Defence is an engine for growth, and this is what it looks like in practice." 

Rob Harper, CEO and founder of Rowden, said:

“Rowden was founded on the belief that the UK is a place where enduring engineering companies can be built, delivering impact for national resilience, economic growth and skills. We chose to partner with the National Wealth Fund because of the direct alignment with our mission and their mandate. The National Wealth Fund is uniquely set up to support ambitious UK companies operating in critical industries, given their long-term investment horizon and commitment to strengthening sovereign capability. They are long on the UK as a place to build world-class engineering companies.”

Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said:

“Building and sustaining our sovereign capabilities is critical to the UK’s long-term security. With our backing, Rowden can accelerate its development of UK-built technologies for national resilience, while continuing to grow future talent here in the UK.” 

Rowden works with UK government customers, including the British Army, Cyber and Special Operations Command, and Scottish Fire and Rescue, and exports its technology to customers overseas. 

The company is delivering key British Army programmes, including Human Machine Teaming, ASGARD, and contributes to the AUKUS AI for Acoustics programme. 

Defence is a sector which the National Wealth Fund will continue to support, seeking investment opportunities with high-growth, innovative projects and businesses including supply chains, dual-use technologies and enabling infrastructure.