Government is ‘failing high-growth businesses’

Policy-makers are looking in the wrong places to promote high growth firms according to new research from the Strathclyde Business School.

The study underlines the danger of adopting policies which pre-judge the volume of high growth firms emerging from start-ups.

Professor Colin Mason, who co-wrote the study, says: ‘There are lots of high growth firms imprisoned within large businesses that would flourish if they were supported to be independently owned and managed.

‘Too much public funding is being invested in supporting start-ups and not enough in high growth business.’

The research also finds that the UK lacks enough schemes to commercialise unique university spin-outs.

‘Despite spin-outs providing unique products, high-growth firms rarely have their origins in universities which is alarming as in nearly every other foreign market they do,’ adds Mason.

The research advises the government to launch direct relationship support dedicated to medium-sized businesses and claims the current business support tool kit doesn’t directly support the needs of high growth firms.

Brown believes the growth of too many medium-sized businesses is stemmed as they are acquired too early by bigger companies after raising venture capital.

Brown concludes: ‘Policy-makers must ensure that high growth firms are anchored, and less amenable to being uprooted and moved elsewhere.’