Mark Lyttleton is an experienced entrepreneur and investor with interests in a range of industries, chief among them early-stage businesses created to have a positive societal or planetary impact. This article will look at business funding, with a particular focus on corporate series funding rounds.
To raise financing for any business, its founders need a long-term vision for growth. Series funding is a multi-round process that enables companies to raise capital from external investors, typically ranging anywhere from £1 million to over £30 million.
In the United Kingdom, despite prevailing economic headwinds, 2026 started strongly for start-up funding, shifting from a period of cautious recovery to one of high growth. According to data collated by Fintech Finance, British start-ups raised circa £17.5 billion in 2025, representing a 35% increase on the previous year – marking the start of a trend that has carried through to 2026. High-growth sectors in 2026 include healthcare and biotech, fintech and renewable energy infrastructure.
Many companies complete several fundraising rounds prior to reaching the initial public offering (IPO) stage. Fundraising rounds provide an opportunity for investors to become involved in financing a company’s growth in return for an ownership stake. New valuations are conducted at the time of each funding round. Company valuations are based on various factors, including current revenues, management, market size and company potential.
Series A, B and C funding rounds typically follow the stages of seed funding and angel investing, providing investors with an opportunity to buy a new equity stake in the company or add to an existing stake. Each funding round is a separate event, with the letters A, B and C correlating with the evolution of the growth of the company.
Pre-seed funding is the earliest stage, arriving so early in a company’s formation that it is not usually included in its official funding rounds. At this point, the company’s founders seek financing to get their business off the ground, often through their own personal finances, family, friends and other supporters.
The first meaningful equity funding stage is usually seed funding, which is the first official injection of capital into the business venture. Seed funding enables the company to complete its first steps, such as product development and market research, allowing it to determine its target demographic and what its final products will be. Many companies never go beyond the seed funding stage to complete future funding rounds as the business can be shown to be not viable at this stage, hence the higher risk involved at seed rounds.
Series A funding requires a solid business plan and model capable of generating long-term profit. Investors aren’t just looking for great ideas; they’re looking for strong strategies for converting innovative products into a successful, profitable business. At this stage, a single investor may serve as an anchor, making it easier for the company to attract others. It is becoming increasingly common for businesses to raise capital via equity crowdfunding as part of a Series A funding round.
Series B funding is the next stage, for businesses with high potential for profit, growth and healthy returns on investment. It is often used to enhance the business strategy, such as entering new markets, adding product lines or expanding infrastructure. Series B funding tends to come from venture capitalists or private equity firms, i.e. professional investment companies.
Series C funding is an option for companies with high potential that are seeking to accelerate their growth into a large enterprise. By this point, a robust business model will have been established, often showing significant revenue growth. Series C funding is usually sourced from private equity firms, venture capital firms and sometimes corporate investors.
The final funding stage is the IPO, where the company offers a portion of its shares to the public and professional investors for the first time. At this point the business goes from private to publicly owned, with its stock usually listed on an exchange, which allows daily liquidity of the shares – something that is never available under the private ownership structure. Having said that, the concepts of crypto and tokenisation could herald a new dawn for private companies, allowing a degree of liquidity even while still under private ownership structures.
