17 Mar 2025

techUK Scale-Up Action Plan

Ahead of the Government's Industrial Strategy, techUK release our Scale-Up Action Plan.

Investing in the tech scale-ups can yield substantial returns. According to recent research, UK scale-ups are reporting huge growth rates, with an average annual revenue increase of 43% over the past three years - more than double the OECD benchmark. According to the ScaleUp Institute, despite representing less than 0.6% of the SME population, scale-ups account for over 55% of UK SME output at £1.45 trillion.

Our Plan has been developed with our members and ScaleUp Council, alongside input from experts and stakeholders from across the scale-up ecosystem, including the BVCA and ScaleUp Institute.

techUK Scale-Up Action Plan.png

 

In this Plan, we set out how backing the UK tech scale-ups will be crucial to support the Government's ambition for growth.

The Government should us its full growth offer, most importantly the industrial strategy, to simplify operations and reduce costs for tech businesses to invest and scale-up in the UK.

These ideas are backed by practical interventions that consider the fiscal position the Treasury finds itself.

Key actions in our Scale-Up Action Plan include:

Access customers in other / home markets: Companies at series B+ stage may face challenges in securing funding from UK investors and look to explore opportunities to expand into new markets. At this stage of growth, companies are also likely to face regulatory scrutiny.

  • The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology should launch a dedicated support package for tech scale-ups, including a concierge service.
  • Government buyers should give scaling businesses more opportunities when buying tech
  • Utilise the Regulatory Innovation Office for tech scale-ups and complement the RIO with regulatory sandboxes and test beds.

Access to the right combination of finance: It is well versed that there is a lack of institutional capital to drive growth. This investment gap impacts on businesses’ ability to expand within the UK and compete on the global stage.

  • Review, streamline and join up the different types of government financial support (including arms-length Government bodies UKRI, InnovateUK and British Business Bank) to make it easier for scale-ups to access.
  • Bolster world-leading EIS and VCT schemes to better support regional tech start-ups and scale-ups, including increasing the age-limit for firms.
  • Continue at pace to advance wider capital market reforms, helping to maximise the impact on government investment vehicles.
  • Apply the success from the French Tibi scheme to boost investment in innovative tech businesses.

Access to talent and skills: Scale-ups often struggle to compete for talent with larger tech businesses, i.e., in offering competitive financial benefits, such as signing bonuses. Tech scale-ups are also learning to cope with meeting growing customer demands whilst simultaneously developing their managerial and leadership talent.

  • Better promote the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) as an option for scaling firms to access talent.
  • Make the scale-up worker visa more competitive, removing complexities and making it cheaper.
  • Bolster the role of national assets, including universities, to continue developing a pipeline and network of entrepreneurial talent.

Develop a pipeline and ecosystem of diverse tech scale-ups: Female and ethnic-minority led businesses remain vastly underfunded, receiving only a small fraction of scale up capital. Demonstrating the scale of the problem, only one in three UK entrepreneurs are women, a gender gap equivalent to 1.1 million missing businesses.

  • Create stronger evidence on base diverse tech founders by improving data collection for government and policymakers.
  • Work to establish a network of next generation diverse leaders in deep tech and life sciences ecosystem by continuing the Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship Programme.

techUK and our members urge the Government to stay ambitious, keep up with technological advancements, and uphold its commitment to investing in research and innovation to tackle economic challenges. At this critical moment, it is essential to send a strong message that the UK is dedicated to supporting high-growth tech businesses that will shape the global economy in the decade ahead.

Scale-ups should be thought about as ultra-growth companies - bringing unparalleled dynamism to the economy. If the Industrial Strategy is to deliver on its vision it will be a compelling plan for supporting scale-ups, powered by technology at its core. The report we are publishing today sets out techUK's recommendations for ensuring that the UK remains one of the most attractive locations in the world to locate and build high-growth companies.

Antony Walker, Deputy CEO

techUK

techUK Scale-Up Action Plan

Scaling with ambition to drive the UK's economic growth story.

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techUK helps our members understand, engage and influence the development of digital and tech policy in the UK and beyond. We support our members to understand some of the most complex and thorny policy questions that confront our sector. Visit the programme page here.

 

 

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17 March 2025

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techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD Summit

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Meet the team 

Antony Walker

Antony Walker

Deputy CEO, techUK

Alice Campbell

Alice Campbell

Head of Public Affairs, techUK

Edward Emerson

Edward Emerson

Head of Digital Economy, techUK

Samiah Anderson

Samiah Anderson

Head of Digital Regulation, techUK

Audre Verseckaite

Audre Verseckaite

Senior Policy Manager, Data & AI, techUK

Mia Haffety

Mia Haffety

Policy Manager - Digital Economy, techUK

Archie Breare

Archie Breare

Policy Manager - Skills & Digital Economy, techUK

Daniella Bennett Remington

Daniella Bennett Remington

Policy Manager - Digital Regulation, techUK

Oliver Alderson

Oliver Alderson

Junior Policy Manager, techUK

Tess Newton

Team Assistant, Policy and Public Affairs, techUK

 

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