Cornwall Trade & Investment

What Cornwall Trade & Investment does

Cornwall Trade & Investment (CTI) is a government-funded regional economic development organization established in 2013 (formerly known as "Invest in Cornwall") and owned by Cornwall Council. Headquartered at New County Hall, Truro, UK, with a staff of 1-10, CTI operates as a free business support service funded by Cornwall Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (£132 million allocation to Cornwall and Isles of Scilly). Its mandate is two-fold: (1) attract inbound investment by helping businesses locate and establish operations in Cornwall, and (2) support existing Cornish businesses in internationalizing and exporting to new markets.

CTI's service portfolio spans inbound location advisory, bespoke property searches, talent and skills support, funding access assistance, and export advisory. It operates dedicated funding programs including the £30 million Kernow Industrial Growth Fund (critical minerals, renewable energy, space, marine innovation), the Aerospace Fund (50% match funding), and the EPIC eHealth challenge fund. Its core go-to-market is enterprise field sales — bespoke introductions, visits, and trade missions — rather than self-service or software. Distribution is direct through the CTI team, supplemented by international trade missions to markets including Helsinki/Slush, UAE, USA, Ireland, Mexico, and Finland.

The organization coordinates a dense stakeholder ecosystem across Cornwall's key industries: renewable energy (40% of Cornwall's electricity from renewables; 100 GW Celtic Sea floating offshore wind potential), critical minerals (copper, tin, lithium, tungsten), space and satellite (Goonhilly Earth Station, Spaceport Cornwall), agritech, and creative industries. Strategic partners include the University of Exeter (Penryn Campus, Camborne School of Mines), Falmouth University, University of Plymouth, Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, Growth Hub, Department for Business and Trade, Celtic Sea Power, and a range of corporate backers supporting the GEL (Geothermal Energy Lithium) United Downs project. CTI does not generate commercial revenue; its operating model is public-sector service delivery.

Name

Cornwall Trade & Investment

Legal name

Cornwall Trade and Investment

Website

https://cornwallti.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cornwall Trade & Investment is a government-funded regional economic development agency that provides free advisory, funding access, and trade mission services to help businesses locate in Cornwall and support Cornish exporters entering international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Redruth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: CTI is funded by Cornwall Council and the Shared Prosperity Fund. Services are provided free of charge to businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cornwall Trade & Investment is a publicly funded trade and investment promotion agency that helps businesses locate, expand and invest in Cornwall and supports Cornish companies to export. It provides inward investment services (site and workspace finding, talent and skills support, market intelligence), export development support (trade missions, market entry advice), and brokerage to regional growth funds and business support programmes.

Product overview

Cornwall Trade & Investment operates as a regional economic development organization offering a coordinated portfolio of business support services rather than a single software product. The organization provides two primary service streams: (1) inbound investment support including location advisory, workspace finding, and introductions to local networks for businesses relocating to Cornwall, and (2) outbound export assistance through organized trade missions to international markets. These core services are augmented by specialized funding programs including the £30 million Kernow Industrial Growth Fund, the Aerospace Fund (50% match funding for space/aerospace ventures), and the EPIC health technology challenge fund. The organization connects businesses with talent resources, funding opportunities, and sector-specific expertise across industries including agri-food, renewable energy, space, creative/cultural sectors, and critical minerals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Location Support Services

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Octopus EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Long-term Power Purchase Agreement with GEL (Geothermal Energy Lithium) for at least 3 MW of constant, weather-independent geothermal power from United Downs plant, supplying around 10,000 UK homes.
• Exergy InternationalcoreTechnology or Integration · 26 February 2026Italian technology provider behind 500+ MW of geothermal capacity worldwide, supplying advanced power plant technology for UK's first commercial-scale geothermal electricity at United Downs.
• Celtic Sea PowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) development, hosting Norwegian Offshore Wind delegation visits.
• Norwegian Offshore WindminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLargest representative offshore wind body in Norway, seeking to understand Cornwall's FLOW opportunities for potential partnerships.
• Cornwall Chamber of CommercecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business support organization, part of CTI's referral network for business support services.
• Growth HubcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness support organization in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, part of referral network.
• Department for Business and TradecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational and international network, CTI works closely with DBT's network for trade promotion.
• University of ExetercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university with Penryn Campus in Cornwall; Camborne School of Mines provides mining expertise.
• Falmouth UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of UK's leading creative universities, providing talent pipeline for creative sector.
• University of PlymouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading university with Centre for Health Technology, runs EPIC eHealth fund.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Celtic Sea Power: Cornwall-based development organization specifically focused on marine renewable energy in the Celtic Sea, including floating offshore wind. A direct thematic and geographic peer, with which CTI has an active strategic partnership.
• MIDAS (Manchester Investment & Development Agency): Manchester's regional inward investment promotion agency. Closely analogous model: publicly funded, free services to relocating businesses, sector focus (advanced manufacturing, digital, life sciences), partnered with universities and local government.
• Invest Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland's regional economic development and inward investment agency. Most directly comparable to CTI: publicly funded, sector-targeted (including renewables and advanced manufacturing), provides location advisory, export support and aftercare services to businesses.
• West Midlands Growth Company: Regional growth company for the West Midlands. Directly comparable publicly-funded trade and investment promotion body offering inward investment lead generation, export support and sector promotion (including advanced manufacturing and creative).
• London & Partners: London's growth agency for trade, investment and tourism. Same economic-development model (publicly funded, free advisory services, international promotion), though operating in a global city context rather than a peripheral region.
• Scottish Development International (SDI): Scotland's national investment and trade promotion agency. Closely analogous to CTI in mandate (inward investment, export support, sector promotion across renewables, space, life sciences), but operating at country scale rather than regional.
• Welsh Government — Trade & Investment: Welsh Government's trade and inward investment function. Directly comparable as a devolved-government trade and investment body with sector specialization and export missions; differs in scale and the broader Welsh semiconductor/compound semiconductor cluster.

Regional players

• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): England's LEP network brings together local authorities and private sector to drive economic growth and skills in defined geographies. Conceptually comparable as regional economic development bodies, but more strategic-policy oriented and less focused on direct inward-investment deal support than CTI.

Broad incumbents

• Department for Business and Trade (DBT): The UK government's national trade and investment promotion department. CTI explicitly partners with DBT's network for trade promotion, and DBT is the parent macro-level equivalent performing inward investment and export support across all UK regions.
• British Business Bank: UK government's principal economic-development bank providing capital and investment programs across regions and sectors. Comparable in its publicly-funded mandate to deploy capital and grow regional ecosystems, though operating at national scale with debt and equity vehicles.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CornwallTradeandInvestment
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornwall-trade-and-investment
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornwalltradeinvestment
• Xx.com/invest_cornwall

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornwall Trade & Investment