The search is on for the businesses that will make up the 2024 º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50.
Originally established in 1999 as the Wales Fast Growth 50, last year it was extended to the rest of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and now collates a detailed list of the fast-growing firms in seven nations and regions of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ: the east of England and Midlands, London, the north of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the south of England and Wales.
As for the last twenty-five years, rankings of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50 index are based on percentage growth of revenues over three financial years. By extending it to the rest of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, we can see the impact that a small group of businesses can have on the economy.
For example, the 350 firms on the 2023 º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50 Index had a collective turnover of £12²ú²Ô in 2023 and despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic, these fifty firms produced an additional £7.4²ú²Ô in turnover during the period 2020-2022, at an average growth rate of 167%. These businesses also created 23,000 new jobs in just two years, doubling their workforce and demonstrating their continuing importance across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy.
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Indeed, we mustn’t underestimate the impact that a small cohort of firms can have on the economy. While fast growth firms – normally defined as achieving 20% growth per annum – make up less than 1% of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ business population, they nevertheless represent 50% of the total SME turnover output.
They are also significant job creators and, although they might represent a small fraction of all companies, they contribute a significant proportion of new jobs in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy every year. They are often at the cutting edge in their respective industries, bringing innovative products, services, and processes to the market. As a result, they make a tremendous contribution to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy.
Recent data from the Scale Up Institute shows that high growth firms are represented across all industries, with most of them operating in sectors outside of technology. Such scale-up businesses are also more productive than their peers, generating an average of £504,000 turnover per employee, and are also more innovative, with 80% having introduced or improved a product, service, or process in the last three years, which is twice the rate of large firms.
Four out of ten scale-ups have a female director, 70% offer opportunities to young people through work experience, internships, or apprenticeships, and the majority describe themselves as being a social business, operating in the green economy, or meeting ESG goals.
Half of high growth firms are involved in overseas trade in a range of markets across the world, and most are looking to expand further internationally, especially in emerging markets. Most importantly of all, nine out of ten high growth firms expect to grow again in the coming year, with a quarter expecting to achieve growth of over 50% in either turnover or employment.
Since we went national last year, what has been most exciting is the opportunity to meet a diverse range of founders from across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ at several informal dinners organised by UBS, one of the biggest financial institutions in the world and the primary sponsor of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50 index. Bringing together a diverse group of entrepreneurs who have created incredible businesses has been a privilege and a pleasure, and we will be repeating this during the run-up to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50 awards in October.
For example, at our last dinner in London, we had a lively discussion with a group of founders that included a young financial services entrepreneur with a £1bn turnover business, a husband and wife team that had grown a successful global logistics firm over twenty years, the founder of one of the biggest clothes brands on the high street, and an innovator who had developed a staffing solution that connects nurses to healthcare providers looking to fill available shifts. While being based in completely different industries, they had more in common regarding the challenges of growth than expected.
But perhaps what is most important about what we are doing is the creation of an index of fast-growing ‘local heroes’ in every part of the nation. By recognising the best businesses in every industry in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Fast Growth 50 Index is once again providing inspiration for other entrepreneurial businesses to follow in their footsteps to achieve outstanding growth and to make a significant contribution to wealth creation, employment, and innovation.
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