Aquis Stock Exchange, the UK’s challenger market for listed companies, has announced the inaugural cohort of the Aquis IPO Academy, the UK’s only public markets readiness programme run by an exchange.
The Academy, in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, is a long-term investment in the UK’s growth economy at a pivotal moment for scaling businesses, aiming to act as an engine for IPO activity while addressing the perception gap around accessing public markets.
It draws on the expertise of Barclays Eagle Labs and SIX, which acquired Aquis in 2025, combining domestic scale-up expertise with European IPO Academy experience.
The first cohort is made up of over 25 ambitious UK growth companies, half of which are founded by women. This representation helps address a persistent imbalance – despite the strength of female entrepreneurship across the UK, female-founded businesses have accounted for only around 7% of UK high-growth IPOs since 2011.
Since its inception, the Academy has set out to achieve 50% female-founded participation to help address this imbalance, ensure more female founders have equal access to the same capital and support needed to scale, and improve diversity at the point of market entry.
The inaugural cohort includes female-founded businesses spanning apparel, food and drink, health, IT, medtech and data platforms, demonstrating the depth and breadth of women-founded businesses actively looking to explore public markets as a route to accelerating growth.
Also reflecting the Academy’s ambition to support technology-enabled businesses, the cohort spans AI, fintech, robotics, cyber and enterprise software companies, signifying a commitment to the next generation of UK innovation. Although the UK continues to produce world-class entrepreneurial talent, too many companies are lost at the scale-up stage, with fewer choosing a public listing to support their next phase of growth.
The six-month programme will formally launch later this month, providing the participating companies with direct access to investors, funding advice, pitch development support, expert mentoring across finance, governance and regulation, and a structured pathway aligned to AQSE’s market segments, including discounted admission fees and pre-eligibility support.
The companies selected to join the inaugural cohort are Almace Asset Management, Archax, Ark Immersive, BANG! Curry, Battalion Advanced Technology, Bold Bean Co, Cheeky Panda, ChicP, ClicknClear, Ethicronics, GetHarley, Grace & Green, Grafterr, Itarmi, J3 Debt Solutions, Kin, Modus Infrastructure, Nomad Neuro, Renewablox, Rio AI, Sherloc, Simplex Services, Simudyne, Solo60, Stripe & Stare and Surghive.
David Stevens, CEO of Aquis, said: “The launch of the first cohort demonstrates beyond doubt that the UK has no shortage of ambitious, high-quality growth businesses. The challenge is to ensure more of them see public markets as a viable route to their next stage of growth.
“The IPO Academy is about backing such businesses early and giving founders the tools they need to understand their growth options and engage with public markets.
“SIX, which owns Aquis, already runs a successful IPO Academy in Switzerland, alongside several training and growth programmes for early-stage companies in Spain, and we are delighted to now bring this experience to the UK with the Aquis IPO Academy.
“We’re delighted to welcome the first cohort of brilliant UK growth companies, and are particularly pleased to have delivered on our ambition for 50% female-founded participation from the outset. This is exactly the kind of diverse pipeline of future public companies the UK capital markets need.”
Abdul Qureshi, head of Barclays Business Bank, said: “This impressive inaugural cohort highlights the strength, diversity and ambition of the UK’s next generation of growth businesses.
“Through the Aquis IPO Academy, founders will gain access to the expertise, networks and practical insights needed to better understand public markets and their growth options. We’re proud that half of the companies in this first cohort are female-founded, reflecting both the quality of women-led businesses across the UK and the importance of widening access to growth opportunities.
“We look forward to seeing these businesses continue to scale, innovate and inspire the next generation of founders as they take the next steps in their growth journeys.”
Nicola Piercy (pictured), co-founder of Stripe & Stare and Academy participant, added: “Building Stripe & Stare has always been about doing things differently – creating a better, more sustainable product, building a brand women genuinely love and proving that purpose and commercial ambition can absolutely go hand in hand.
“Being part of the first Aquis IPO Academy cohort is a brilliant opportunity for us to learn more about the public markets, understand what it takes to prepare a business for that next stage of growth, and explore whether a future listing could be part of the Stripe & Stare journey.
“I’m particularly excited to be part of a programme opening up this route to more ambitious, women-led businesses. We need to see more female-founded companies scaling, accessing capital and succeeding on the public markets.”