The chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a £320 million plan as part of his Mansion House reforms aiming to support high-potential companies and drive domestic innovation.

Under the multi-million pound plan, announced ahead of the Autumn Statement tomorrow, the government is to support new investment vehicles tailored to the needs of pension schemes.

The sum of £250 million is to be committed to two successful bidders under the Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LFTS) initiative, subject to contract. The government said this will provide over a billion pounds of investment from pension funds, and other sources, into UK technology and science companies.

A new growth fund is also to be established within the British Business Bank (BBB), to complement private investment vehicles. The growth fund is set to draw on a capital base of over £7 billion to give pension schemes access to opportunities in high-potential businesses.

Further, £20 million is to be used specifically to foster more university spinout companies. At least £50 million in additional funding is to go towards the British Business Bank’s Future Fund: Breakthrough programme, which provides direct investment to help spinouts to scale up.

An independent review — led by Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, and Andrew Williamson, managing partner of Cambridge Innovation Capital — recommended policies that should be adopted by universities and investors to help speed up and better support the spinout process.

The chancellor has accepted the recommendations, and will set out his full response as part of tomorrow’s Autumn Statement.

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Speaking on the spinout investment in particular, science and technology secretary Michelle Donelan commented: “Turning new ideas and innovations into blossoming businesses is the bedrock of a vibrant economy and our £20m investment will drive more successful UK spinout companies like Oxford Nanopore and Darktrace, ensuring world-class research translates into world-leading industries.

“At the same time, we need clear rules on the stakes held by universities which offer world class facilities and expertise to get those companies off the ground, so we can back future generations of innovators, in turn creating more local jobs and growing our economy.”

On the plans as a whole, Hunt remarked: “Innovation is the key to our future success as a nation and it’s vital that we do all we can to help companies start, scale and grow in the UK.

“Tomorrow’s Autumn Statement will be a huge step towards delivering our Mansion House reforms and unleashing the full potential of our pensions industry.”