Midlands home to highest proportion of growth companies, survey says
THE Midlands is home to the highest proportion of high-growth companies in the UK, with one in four (26%) now being considered high-growth.
Those are the findings of the latest Barclays and BGF Entrepreneurs Index report reveals.
The figure represents a 54% increase in the year to March 2013 – the second highest percentage growth of any UK region after Wales.
This Entrepreneurs Index is the fourth in a bi-annual series tracking the entrepreneurial lifecycle across the regions of the UK, using data to measure start-ups, growth and share sales.
The findings reveal that the Midlands saw a slight fall of 1% in the number of active, growing companies recording share sales in the past year to 665, which could reflect that entrepreneurs in the Midlands may be struggling to make the transition from expansion to exit phase, suggest Barclays and BGF.
There was a 0.4% rise in the number of enterprise] in 2013, making the Midlands home to 317,040 enterprises – the third highest in the country.
Paul Keiser, regional director, Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in the Midlands, said: “The findings in this edition of the Entrepreneurs Index confirm that the economic recovery in the Midlands is gathering pace.
“We work closely with many entrepreneurs and this increase in the proportion of high growth companies evidences the strong entrepreneurial vision and leadership that we see across the Midlands. It is very positive to see that as a region we lead the way and we would expect this to continue across 2014 and beyond.”
Gavin Petken, regional director, Midlands, BGF, added: “After London and the South-East, the Midlands has the highest number of active enterprises and it also has the highest percentage of high-growth companies out of any region.
“As long-term equity investors in growing UK companies, we are encouraged by the fact that there is this clear and addressable market in the Midlands, full of business owners who are keen to expand.”
