EnSpire partner NatWest opens Accelerator Hub
NatWest has opened its Accelerator Hub in Oxford with the University of Oxford and The Oxford Trust, the first Equinox commitment delivered. Read how it builds on EnSpire’s work with NatWest.
Our partnership with NatWest now has a home in Oxford. Here is what the hub means for the founders we support.
On Wednesday 23 September, NatWest opened its Accelerator Hub in Oxford. For EnSpire, it is the next step in a partnership we have been building with NatWest since June 2025. For the region, it is the first project to be completed under the Equinox commitments that partners agreed in November 2025.
The hub is in partnership with the University of Oxford and is housed at The Oxford Trust’s Centre for Innovation, located at Blue Boar Court, 9 Alfred Street, Grandpont, Oxford, OX1 4EH. It gives founders free access to expert coaching, practical growth support, networking opportunities and a community of entrepreneurs, and it will be led by Ryan Johnson.
What we said in April, and where we are now
When we brought the NatWest Accelerator to Oxfordshire in April, the app gave founders, students and researchers at the University of Oxford a community to connect with. We said then that plans were under way for a physical hub. That hub is now open.
In June 2026, the final of the NatWest Accelerator Oxford Pitch Competition, hosted in partnership with EnSpire, brought more than 400 founders, investors, academics and business leaders together. Nina van Schaick of Peripear and Lucy Hope of Daughters of Mars took the top two places, and both were among those attending the hub launch. The hub builds on the momentum created by that event.
“Since we began our partnership with NatWest in June 2025, we have built it step by step, and NatWest has backed our founders directly. The hub gives that work a permanent home. It shows what Oxford's founders gain when the University and partners of NatWest's standing invest in them together, and I'm grateful to Darren, Emily and the NatWest team for their commitment to Oxford.” - Dora Handrea, Head of EnSpire
Why it matters for the Oxford ecosystem
NatWest is a partner of EnSpire and a signatory of Equinox, which is intended to strengthen collaboration between academia, innovators, investors and industry. Olga Kozlova, Director of Innovation and Engagement at the University of Oxford, said the hub “represents the first deliverable to be realised from the Equinox commitments agreed last November”, and “demonstrates what can be achieved when universities, businesses and regional partners work together”.
Emily Fallon, regional director of the NatWest Accelerator, said: “Oxford has an outstanding track record of turning great ideas into world-changing businesses. The arrival of the NatWest Accelerator Hub adds another important opportunity for entrepreneurs, creating more ways for founders to learn from one another, access expertise and accelerate their growth.”
NatWest Accelerator Oxford Launch Event
What it means for founders
If you are starting, building or scaling a business in Oxford, the hub adds a place to get support in person, alongside the NatWest Accelerator app and the programme of workshops, masterclasses and networking events we announced in April. Founders can:
- Join the Oxford community on the NatWest Accelerator app, which more than 300 people have already joined
- share opportunities and calls for support, and connect with other founders
- see upcoming events
- register for free coworking desk and meeting room use
Download the app and join the Oxford community →
You can find out more about the partnership on our NatWest Accelerator page.
Photos and video courtesy of NatWest. Read the full NatWest Group press releases on the hub opening and the Pitch Final.
