Rowden, a British engineering business that designs and builds sensing and information systems for defence and resilience customers, has secured £25 million from the National Wealth Fund. The investment marks the National Wealth Fund’s first direct investment supporting defence, national security and resilience and will support the creation of 100 jobs over the next 12 months.
The Bristol-based business designs deployable systems for edge environments where connectivity is degraded, decisions are time-critical and reliable operation under pressure is essential. Customers include the UK MoD and emergency services. Rowden works with UK government customers including the British Army, Cyber and Special Operations Command, and Scottish Fire and Rescue, and exports its technology internationally.
Funding will support the expansion of Rowden’s engineering and manufacturing footprint across the Southwest and the West Midlands. Plans include a new advanced test and evaluation facility in the West Midlands to establish a UK capability in edge technologies. From its engineering and manufacturing base in the Southwest, Rowden plans to add 500 new roles by 2032 to meet demand from UK and international customers.
Deployable systems developed by Rowden are used in programmes including Human Machine Teaming and ASGARD, while the business also contributes to the AUKUS AI for Acoustics programme. Founded in 2017, Rowden currently employs around 160 people and operates more than 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities in the Southwest.
The National Wealth Fund said defence, national resilience and dual-use technologies will remain a strategic area of focus, including investments across supply chains, enabling infrastructure and advanced technologies.
The National Wealth Fund said defence, national resilience and dual-use technologies will remain a strategic area of focus for future investment activity, including opportunities across supply chains, enabling infrastructure and advanced technology development.
Rowden is exactly the kind of British engineering company we want to back: innovative, veteran-founded and delivering for national security. The National Wealth Fund’s investment will help scale world-class sensing and information systems, create highly skilled jobs across the Southwest and West Midlands, and strengthen the industrial foundations our Armed Forces depend upon. Defence is an engine for growth, and this investment demonstrates that in practice.
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.
Building and sustaining sovereign capability is critical to the UK’s long-term resilience and security. With our backing, Rowden can accelerate the development and export of UK-built technologies while continuing to grow engineering talent and advanced manufacturing capability here in the UK.
