High growth SMEs: UK closing the 'scale-up gap'

The number of UK SMEs that have experienced growth of 50 per cent or more since 2013 has doubled, according to a new report from Citrix and YouGov.

It’s an encouraging statistic which shows that these high growth businesses are helping to close the ‘scale-up gap’, as previously identified by entrepreneur, Sherry Coutu.

Ms Coutu noted that although the UK economy is growing quicker than any other G8 nation, recent data has suggested it lags behind the United States and other leading global economies when it comes to scalping up successful companies.

Coutu insists a boost of just one per cent to Britain’s scale-up population could drive an additional 238,000 jobs and earn an additional £38bn to gross value added (GVA) within the next three years.

The same report also defined a scale-up business as having a minimum of 10 employees and recording average annual growth in revenue or workforce of at least 20 per cent during three successive years.

According to the latest Citrix research, 10 per cent of all British companies of this size have recorded average annual growth of more than 20 per cent in the last two years.

Emma Jones, founder, Enterprise Nation, said: “The gazelle-like pace and momentum we’re experiencing in the small business world is not abating, rather it’s increasing as more and more people seize the day and set about starting up a business of their own, taking control of their own destiny.

“This report shows more than ever are now taking their companies to the next level and entering the fast lane and high growth.

“It’s great news for the British economy – and for all those millions of small and micro business owners that are just starting out or growing a company to fit in with their own lifestyle and aspirations.”

The report also discovered a strong correlation between SME growth, technology investment and high growth businesses.

Citrix found that SMEs which grew by 50 per cent or more over the last two years were four times more likely to have invested in their technology infrastructure in 2014 than they did in 2013 (27 per cent) and those that stayed the same size or decreased (six per cent).



Image: Winniepix

Date published 23 Jul 2015 | Last updated 23 Jul 2015