The number of fast-growing ambitious businesses with leaders hungry for success is increasing across Liverpool City Region – new insights from the ScaleUp Institute reveal.
There are now 625 companies in the region that meet the definition of scaleup because they have increased turnover or employment by more than 20% annually. Liverpool City Region scaleups are employing a total of 71,000 staff and their turnover is worth £5.3 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 Castlerock Recruitment Group, The Contact Company, Potens, Cheshire Mouldings and MAC Roofing and Contracting, while the top five for turnover growth are Coffey Group, A&B Engineering, Castlerock Recruitment Group, Joloda International and Potens.
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.
While they are ambitious about their growth, scaleups continue to face major challenges. In Liverpool City Region they particularly highlight access to talent, access to UK markets and access to public innovation funding as key issues. They also want easier access to support from large corporates, and local Government.
The ScaleUp Institute notes that Liverpool City Region offers a number of services for scaleups. “This is encouraging and we will continue to monitor their impact,” said Irene Graham.
Mark Basnett, MD of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “It is fantastic to see more fast-growing city region businesses having the tools, confidence, ambition and drive to scale up. The combination of businesses’ optimism and commitment to investing to achieve growth bodes well for their success and the success of the city region economy.”
Mark added: “For businesses looking to scale up there is a wide range of support that can be accessed through our local Growth Hub (www.LocalGrowthHub.com) and we will be continuing to develop future programmes of support focused on scaleups and leadership development.”