Sifted covers European startup and scaleup news through a business lens — and public money is now central to that story. The Public Finance beat is narrow, technical and policy-adjacent, so generic startup pitches rarely land.

Below is a working guide for positioning stories with Sifted Public Finance reporters, including angle selection, timing and outreach.

Sifted's Public Finance coverage follows public money into private innovation: government grants, procurement, state aid, national investment funds, EIB and development bank lending, and EU programme spending.

Expect interest in how public capital shapes startup outcomes — who wins contracts, who gets crowded out, and where policy creates or kills markets.

• In scope: procurement reform, subsidy schemes, sovereign and state-backed VC, EU funding lines, deeptech and defence-adjacent public spending.
• Out of scope: macro fiscal policy, sovereign debt, municipal budgeting, tax accounting.

Treat the beat as small and senior. With 1+ active journalists, there is little slack for off-brief pitches, and routines matter more than volume.

Build a working Sifted Public Finance reporters list around named bylines, then verify cadence: who files weekly, who appears on policy explainers, who chases FOI and tender data.

Orlando Crowcroft is a representative name in our directory covering this territory; use named bylines as anchors, not a mailing list.

Sifted Public Finance journalists respond to stories where public money meets measurable startup consequence. Lead with the mechanism, not the mission.

Five angles that travel:

1. Procurement friction — why startups lose to incumbents on public tenders, with contract data.
2. Subsidy asymmetry — which countries fund which sectors, and the startup gap that follows.
3. State-backed VC — fund mandates, returns, and conflicts of interest.
4. Programme failure — undersubscribed grant schemes and the founders who skipped them.
5. Defence and climate spending — where public budgets are redirecting private capital.

Pair each with a number a reporter can verify independently: a contract value, an award count, a budget line, a percentage change year on year.

Route through verified Sifted Public Finance journalists contacts rather than press-release inboxes — a direct, short email to a bylined reporter outperforms a group send every time.

Keep the first touch to 150 words: the finding, the number, the availability window, the offer of data on request.

• Do: name the specific programme, tender reference or fund.
• Do: offer an exclusive data cut or first look at documents.
• Don't: pitch a round, a hire, or a product launch.
• Don't: follow up more than once in 72 hours.

Position yourself as a source with documentation, not a company with an announcement.

Check every box before sending:

• Is there a public money trail — grant, contract, fund, subsidy?
• Is the startup or scaleup consequence explicit in sentence one?
• Is there one independently verifiable number?
• Is the timing tied to a budget, programme call or filing?
• Is the spokesperson a credible operator or analyst, not a comms lead?
• Does the subject line read like a headline, not a campaign?
• Is the pitch under 200 words with one chart?

Run this checklist against the Sifted Public Finance reporters you're targeting, and skip the send if three or more boxes are empty.