Applications have opened for the latest NatWest Accelerator Pitch competition, offering early-stage businesses the chance to compete for £100,000 in prize funding at a live final in London.
The competition is part of NatWest Accelerator Pitch, a UK-wide programme that will distribute £1 million across 2025 and 2026 to support businesses seeking to expand.
Five finalists will be selected to present their businesses at NatWest’s conference centre at its flagship London office on November 19. The event will bring together investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The winner will receive £70,000, while the runner-up will be awarded £20,000 and the third-place finalist will receive £10,000.
Founders seeking to enter must join the free NatWest Accelerator community and submit an online application along with a 60-second video explaining how the funding would help their business grow.
Applicants must operate a UK-registered limited company that was established within the past five years and generates no more than £1 million in annual revenue. Although the final will be held in London, the competition is open to eligible founders across the UK.
NatWest said the event will take place at its Accelerator hub at 250 Bishopsgate, opposite Spitalfields Market. The bank said the full judging panel would be announced before the final.
The competition forms part of NatWest’s Growing Together campaign, which aims to help businesses start, develop and expand by connecting founders with funding, expertise, networks and business opportunities.
Emily Fallon, regional director at NatWest Accelerator, said London was home to ambitious founders and described the competition as an opportunity to discover businesses ready to grow.
She said the bank’s programme was helping entrepreneurs access funding, coaching and professional networks, while pointing to the impact of recent competitions in Oxford and Wolverhampton.
Since NatWest Accelerator Pitch launched in 2025, the competition has attracted thousands of applications and provided funding to businesses across the UK. Participants can also access coaching, investor connections and peer networks through the wider Accelerator programme.
NatWest is expanding that programme to 50,000 entrepreneurs this year and operates regional hubs, including a location at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham.
The London final will follow competitions held in Oxford and Wolverhampton. More than 400 founders, investors and business leaders attended the Oxford final at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, on June 18, where five finalists were selected from more than 600 applicants.
November’s event will be the second NatWest Accelerator Pitch final held in London. The inaugural London competition was won by Orli founder Dr Mark Cox, who received the £70,000 first prize for the company’s behavioural intelligence platform focused on childhood emotional wellbeing.
NatWest said it has continued supporting Cox and Orli through its wider Accelerator community.
