Growth Dashboard Highlights Startup Growth in UK Regions

The Growth Dashboard, an annual report released by the Enterprise Research Centre, a policy advisory group with researchers from five United Kingdom business schools, and the government’s Business Growth Service, serves as a source of evidence to inform discussions on the country’s business support priorities. Presenting a set of growth metrics for startups and existing firms across a range of sub-national geographies in the UK, the metrics used in the annually updated dashboard are: 

• Proportion of fast-growing firms in the business population (2011-2014);
• Net job creation ratios for 2013-2014;
• Three-year survival rates of startups (2011-2014);
• Proportion of surviving startups that reach £1m turnover (2011- 2014); and,
• Proportion of existing £1-2M ($1.57-3.15M USD) turnover businesses THAT grow to £3m ($4.72M USD) turnover (2011-2014).

London, conventionally seen as the UK’s innovative anchor, places in the top three on four of the five indicators used in the dashboard. While London leads in factors such as startup rate, measured by employer startups per 10,000 populations, it ranks near the bottom for three-year survival rates. Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, two regions just north of London, had the highest net job creation, while London ranked third.  The main barriers to growth in the United Kingdom include poor strategy and management and lack of skills in the workforce, according to a survey of SMEs performed as part of the report.

The report also includes an individualized dashboard for each of the sub-national geographies detailed in the report, highlighting information on startups and regional growth, as well as where SMEs perceive barriers to growth exist in the region.

Read a summary of the report here: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/34685312-1435-11e5-9bc5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3e5FqYD4f

Read the report here: http://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-UK-Growth-Dashboard-Report.pdf