ScaleUp Institute Report

Britain “on track to become a scaleup nation”: our fastest growing companies optimistic about their future growth despite the uncertainties of Brexit.

The UK is currently on track to become a ‘scaleup nation,’ according to the 2016 ScaleUp Review conducted by the ScaleUp Institute.

The 2016 survey of ScaleUp CEOs, published in full today, reflects that more than four out of five (83%) scaleup leaders expect their growth to continue despite the uncertainties created by Brexit. It also found two out of three survey respondents are already exporters; Europe and North America remain the core markets of focus for those seeking international expansion, followed by Asia.

These developments are encouraging, however, leaders still cite key barriers to growth in relation to developing leadership capacity, access to corporate buyers at home and abroad and access to the right talent and skills for their scaling businesses.

ScaleUp Headline Survey Results 2016 :

• Building leadership capacity when growing fast: 88% of scaleup CEOs agreed that they would be able to grow their business faster if it were easier to develop the leadership talent at the firm. Scaleup leaders also place great importance on local support: more than seven out of ten said they would be able to grow faster if w ere easier to find effective mentoring and professional support schemes near them. The survey also showed a growing desire to see local universities and business schools develop executive education programmes tailored for scaleups and their teams.

• Attracting large corporate companies as customers both at home and abroad: 86% of scaleup CEOs agreed that they would be able to grow their business faster if it were easier to attract larger corporates as customers in the UK.

• Access to talent and the right skill sets from schools and graduate leavers: 82% of scaleup CEOs agreed that they would be able to grow their business faster if graduates and school leavers had the skills needed to meet customer demand including business and general management alongside technical abilities.

One of the critical factors that can unlock private and public support is the ability to identify these businesses on a timely basis so that they can get the right level of local support at the right time.

The 2016 ScaleUp Review has 10 recommendations for action across the country, with the number one priority being the better use of data held nationally to identify our UK scaleups on a more timely basis. 90% of scaleup leaders want key HMRC data more readily shared - on an opt-in basis - across public and private sectors in order to attract essential support to continue their expansion.

Commenting on the 2016 ScaleUp Review, Sherry Coutu, CBE, Chair of the ScaleUp Institute and author of the 2014 ScaleUp Report said :

"I am pleased to report that there is an increasing proportion of scaleup companies per capita in most communities across a variety of sectors in the UK.

Closing the scaleup gap helps citizens by driving local jobs and opportunities.

However, as the review highlights, we have found regional disparity in the number and density of scaleups per capita on a community-by-community basis across the UK. In some communities there has been a widening of the scaleup gap, while others enjoyed decreases in the scaleup gap. To make Britain work for all, we must close the scaleup gap throughout the country in coming years.

A key factor enabling us to drive down this regional disparity lies in using data held centrally by government to draw attention to the communities closing their scaleup gaps, so their achievements can be celebrated, and so that the techniques they used to remove barriers that hinder their scaleups can be shared with leaders of communities suffering from a shrinking number of scaleup companies.

I am confident that the recommendations in the review will make Britain work for all of us.

I invite all stakeholders interested in the prosperity of our citizens, to join us in mapping the best interventions across the UK that remove barriers hampering the growth of scaling businesses. Working together we can continue the excellent progress made in the last 2 years to close the scaleup gap identified in the 2014 ScaleUp Report. We look forward to collaborating with you."

To read the full report, please click here.