Tokenovate CEO Welcomes New UK Founders’ Relief to Boost Fintech Retention

The UK Chancellor has introduced a new Founders’ Relief in the Autumn Budget, setting a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on lifetime gains up to £10 million. For fintech leaders, this move aims to anchor high-growth innovation within the UK, addressing long-standing concerns about the migration of successful startups to more capital-rich markets.

What was announced

The new Founders’ Relief is a targeted tax measure designed to support entrepreneurs by offering a preferential 10% Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate. This rate applies to lifetime gains of up to £10 million, providing a significant incentive for business owners to remain in the UK as they scale their ventures. The policy arrives at a time of intensifying global competition for talent and investment, particularly in the high-growth technology and financial services sectors.

The relief is specifically aimed at entrepreneurs who take the risks associated with job creation and building successful domestic businesses. By capping the 10% rate at £10 million in lifetime gains, the government is attempting to balance fiscal responsibility with the need to retain innovative companies that might otherwise seek exits or further scaling opportunities in overseas markets. This move is part of a broader strategy within the Autumn Budget to ensure the UK remains a competitive environment for financial technology and other high-growth industries.

Richard Baker, Founder and CEO of Tokenovate, noted that while the relief is a positive step, it must be supported by broader structural changes. He suggested that the UK risks becoming an incubator for innovative businesses that ultimately scale overseas without better access to growth capital and regulatory certainty. As global financial markets undergo a major transformation driven by automation and tokenisation, the UK must strengthen its funding escalator to ensure innovators can grow and eventually list domestically.

"The introduction of a new Founders’ Relief is a welcome step towards rewarding entrepreneurs who take risks, create jobs and build successful businesses in the UK. With global competition for investment and talent intensifying, giving founders greater incentives to scale and remain in the UK sends an important signal."

Richard Baker, CEO and Founder of Tokenovate

The companies involved

Tokenovate is a UK-based financial technology firm focused on the transformation of global financial markets through automation, tokenisation, and digital settlement. The company operates within the post-trade infrastructure space, providing solutions that leverage distributed ledger technology to streamline complex financial processes. As a homegrown fintech, Tokenovate represents the segment of the market the new Founders’ Relief is intended to protect—innovative, high-growth businesses that are critical to the UK's status as a global financial hub.

The firm has established a presence in the post-trade automation sector, recently expanding its leadership team to drive growth in this area. Tokenovate’s work involves the integration of Common Domain Model (CDM) standards and blockchain networks to facilitate more efficient market operations. In a market where the US and other jurisdictions are aggressively competing for financial technology listings and headquarters, Tokenovate’s position highlights the ongoing tension between the UK’s ability to nurture early-stage innovation and its capacity to provide the necessary funding escalator for mature firms to reach their full potential domestically.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Tokenovate’s technical milestones and market insights. Recently, the publication covered how UK Digital Gilt Advances as Industry Experts Weigh in on HM Treasury's DIGIT Pilot, a project relevant to Tokenovate’s focus on digital settlement. The firm also made headlines when Tokenovate Taps Former BMLL Exec William L’Heveder to Drive Post-Trade Automation Growth. In a significant technical achievement, FF News reported that Tokenovate Achieves Industry First with CDM-Native Intra-Day Repo on Canton Network. Additionally, the company has provided critical perspective on market readiness, as seen in the report UK T+1 Settlement: 83% of Firms Confident but Only 32% Ready for 2027 Deadline.

What this means

The introduction of Founders’ Relief is a clear defensive play by the UK government to stem the tide of "scale-up flight." While a 10% tax rate on £10 million in gains provides a tangible reward for early-stage risk, it does not solve the fundamental funding gap that plagues the British fintech sector. The industry remains under pressure from the deeper liquidity and more aggressive valuation environments found in the US. Without a corresponding increase in domestic growth capital and a more streamlined path to public listing, there is a risk that this tax relief merely delays the inevitable departure of the UK’s most promising innovators.