27 March 2019
The number of fast-growing ambitious businesses with leaders hungry for success is increasing across South East Midlands – new insights from the ScaleUp Institute reveal.
There are now 1,095 companies in the region that meet the definition of scaleup because they have increased turnover or employment by more than 20% annually. South East Midlands scaleups are employing a total of 142,000 staff and their turnover is worth £31.1 billion. This is according to new research by the ScaleUp Institute based on the latest 2017 ONS data.
In the area, the top five scaleups by employment growth are Steven Eagell Toyota, Broadway Stampings, Neville Construction Group of Companies, Chargemaster and Panther Logistics, while the top five for turnover growth are Chargemaster, Blue Chip, TXM Plant, Steven Eagell Toyota and Altodigital.
Across the UK there are over 36,000 scaleups, an increase of 3.7% from 2016.
ScaleUp Institute Chief Executive Irene Graham said: “Scaleups are the engine drivers of local economies; they are twice as innovative as large firms, employ twice as many apprentices, are twice as likely to be operating in international markets, and, significantly, they create high quality jobs.
“Their aspirations remain high. According to our recent ScaleUp survey eight out of ten expect to scale again in 2019, generating £1.5 billion more in turnover and creating an extra 7,000 jobs.”
SEMLEP’s Chief Executive, Hilary Chipping said, “It’s really encouraging to see the South East Midlands progress from a scaleup ‘cold spot’ to recognising a growing number of ambitious businesses achieving fast growth.
“Our area is the third most successful LEP area in the country for business start-ups and we’ve focused efforts through our partnerships, investments and with direct support from our Growth Hub advisers to help businesses take up opportunities to pursue scale.
“Through our Local Industrial Strategy, we are focusing on this further and have identified clear priorities to help tackle constraints to business growth.”
While they are ambitious about their growth, scaleups continue to face major challenges. In South East Midlands they particularly highlight access to talent and access to UK markets as key issues. They also want easier access to support from Local Government, peer-to-peer networks and stronger connections to public sector support opportunities notably for innovation and finance.
The ScaleUp Institute notes that South East Midlands offers a number of services for scaleups. “This is encouraging and we will continue to monitor their impact,” said Irene Graham.
Businesses are encouraged to contact SEMLEP’s Growth Hub for support on scaling up their business. Call 01604 212696 or email growthhub@semlep.com
Download the full report here: http://www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk/research/the-scaleup-landscape/
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