Build version one with code your investors will want to see.
The median advertised salary for a UK software engineer is £70,000, or £100,000 in London (ITJobsWatch, October 2026), before employer National Insurance at 15 per cent. Most founders cannot hire a team before they raise. We give you a senior team now, with everything set up the way investors' lawyers expect to find it.
- Free 30-minute call
- Fixed quote in writing
- Code you own
Help that fits your stage.
Got an idea and no technical co-founder? Talk to an engineer.
Thirty minutes with a senior engineer, free and with no obligation. Bring the problem, not a brief.
You own everything, and the paperwork proves it.
Under UK law, the copyright in work commissioned from a contractor belongs to its author unless it is assigned to you in writing (GOV.UK, Intellectual Property Office). Paying for the code is not enough on its own, and investors' lawyers will ask to see the assignments.
Sources: GOV.UK, Ownership of copyright works; Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90. General information, not legal advice.
Investor-ready by default.
Investors' lawyers check IP assignments from founders, employees and contractors, data processing agreements, and the records behind any R&D claim (Ashfords, founder due diligence checklist). We build so those answers already exist.
How working with us actually feels.
Two ways to pay.
A fixed quote, paid as it ships.
After discovery you get a fixed, itemised quote in pounds and a milestone plan. You pay as each stage is shown working, and any change of scope is costed in writing before we build it. Nothing is paid in full up front.
How discovery worksThe Co-Founder Programme.
For a few founders a year, we carry 50 to 70 per cent of the build cost as services in exchange for 10 to 15 per cent equity in ordinary shares. You bring a UK limited company, the idea, the rest of the build cost and a marketing budget of at least half the build cost. The next cycle starts in January 2027.
Read the programme and term sheetFunding signposts.
Where UK founders commonly look for money, with the official source for each. This is general information, checked on 12 October 2026, not tax or financial advice.
More: Funding your software or AI project in the UK, our longer guide.
Frequently asked questions.
Who owns the code you build for our start-up?
Your company does, once the work is paid for. Our contract assigns the copyright and other intellectual property to your company in writing, which UK law requires for an assignment to work. The code lives in your repository from the first commit, and your company holds the cloud, app store and domain accounts.
Will investors accept code built by an agency?
Investors care less about who wrote the code than whether you own it, whether it is documented and whether it can scale. We give you written IP assignments, a licence register, architecture notes and tests, so a technical due diligence review finds a product, not a problem.
What happens if we stop working together?
You keep everything we have built and you have paid for: the code in your repository, the accounts in your name and the documentation. We hand over cleanly, with notes your next developer or first hire can follow, so the product keeps moving.
How long does an MVP take?
About 90 days from kick-off to a launchable MVP for a well-scoped product, with a working demo every week. A fundraising prototype can be quicker. Discovery comes first and sets the exact scope and timeline in a fixed quote.
Can we claim R&D tax relief on what we pay you?
Possibly, for parts that are genuinely R&D, and the claim would be yours, not ours. Since April 2024 the rules limit it to 65 per cent of the qualifying part of an unconnected supplier's fee and generally exclude work done outside the UK. Ask your adviser, and ask any supplier, including us, where the work will be done.
Does the Co-Founder Programme affect our SEIS or EIS round?
Our shares get no relief, because they are not paid for in cash. We structure the programme so we never control the company and most of any SEIS or EIS money is not paid to us, but HMRC decides eligibility. Apply for advance assurance with independent advice.
Can you be our CTO until we hire one?
Yes. Our fractional CTO service gives you a senior technical lead a few days a month for the roadmap, architecture, supplier decisions, investor due diligence and hiring your first engineers. When you are ready to hire a full-time CTO, we help you find them.
Do you sign an NDA before we share our idea?
Yes, a mutual NDA before any detailed session. For a first conversation, describe the problem and the market rather than the secret parts. Our standard terms also include confidentiality, and anything you share stays inside the team working with you.
Still have a question? Ring 07723 431000 and speak to an engineer.