Season Five
Susannah de Jager·Oxford, United Kingdom
Britain's research strengths are failing to create lasting companies and jobs at home. Season Five explores what it will take to turn ideas into scaled, listed businesses through conversations with founders, investors, and policymakers.
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Season Five
Trailer · 21 Sept 2026
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Susannah de JagerHost
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Matt Eastland-JonesProducer
Story Ninety-FourProduction Company
Show notes
What will it take for Britain to turn its research strengths into companies that stay, scale and list at home?
Gordon Sanghera takes listeners through Oxford Nanopore's rise and its decision to list in London. Eva Barboni of Enterprise Britain argues for shorter non-competes to free up talent, and Acorn co-founder Hermann Hauser asks how Europe can fund its next generation of global companies. Conversations with the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Immunocore and Genomics follow.
The timing matters. UK university spinouts raised £1.3bn of venture capital in 2025, down from £2.2bn in 2024, according to Dealroom's Spotlight on Spinouts report.
The ideas are here. Season Five asks what it will take to build on them, starting 29 September.
Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital.
Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content
Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking.
Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.
Transcript
Susannah de Jager
Oxford Plus is back for Season Five. I'm Susannah de Jager, and this season we're asking whether Britain can turn its research strengths into lasting economic success.
As geopolitics reshapes where researchers choose to work, Britain has an amazing opportunity. Gordon Sanghera takes us through Oxford Nanopore's rise and its decision to list in London. Eva Barboni from Enterprise Britain argues for shorter non-competes to free up talent and Acorn co-founder Hermann Hauser asks how Europe can fund its next generation of global companies.
We also speak to the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Immunocore, Genomics and many more The ideas are here, what will it take to build on them? Oxford Plus partnered with Mishcon de Reya and sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking. Tune in from September the 29th.
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Equitable Innovation Oxford is a major regional partnership established by the University of Oxford to drive inclusive innovation and sustainable economic growth locally, nationally and globally. Equinox serves as a voice for the region, championing innovation that delivers economic impact and social value.