Explore the ScaleUp Annual Review 2022

Select a section to expand and explore this year's review..

Programme

Mayor of London’s International Business Programme[2022]

Access to Markets

Impact for scaleups

1,340+

businesses supported since the programme started

5,367

jobs created

£142.5m

new international deals

£155.9m

increased GVA

£6.5bn

investment raised

66

trade missions since 2016

Key sectors

Creative, digital, film, games & media Environmental Science & Technology Finance Life Sciences & Biotech

Now in its seventh year, the Mayor’s International Business Programme (MIBP) continues to support some of the Capital’s fastest growing companies to access new markets across the globe. Launched by London & Partners in 2016 the programme is widely recognised as a high quality export programme and has helped London based tech companies become recognised brands in their fields.

The programme is open to London based scaling businesses in the finance, business services and tech; Creative; Urban innovation; and life sciences sectors.  These fast growing businesses should also employ between 10 and 249 workers and be generating revenues of at least £1m per annum, or the equivalent in funding (or a combination of both) as well as demonstrate steady growth with active projects, domestically or internationally.

The free 12-month programme is individually tailored towards each business, providing support and advice for international expansion success. It offers practical advice and on-the-ground support, both in London and in global markets.

During the Covid-19 lockdown MIBP switched to online workshops to remain engaged and relevant to business needs and challenges. This has now evolved into a hybrid approach, harnessing the benefits of both online and in person models. 

This year also saw a return to in person events and trade missions including a Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage (REACH) mission to Chicago for underrepresented founders delivered in partnership with the Manchester Growth Hub. The weeklong event forged vital connections into the US market with fourteen diverse scaleup founders from London and Manchester meeting Fortune 500 companies, investors accelerators and economic development agencies as well as fellow founders. This included face to face time with Boeing, Google and JP Morgan. 

In May 2022 MIBP’s Creative Tech Mission to Los Angeles introduced 13 London scaleups to top US creative companies including Walt Disney, Universal Pictures and Verizon and gave them the opportunity to pitch to these large corporates. The past year has seen a total of 10 trade missions – three were virtual and seven face to face – supporting 117 scaleups.

The programme’s new Female Founder series creates a community of ambitious leaders and features inspirational speakers drawn from across the ecosystem. These include AMS Founder and CEO Rosaleen Blair CBE and Aarti Samnani, Executive Leader and former CEO of IProov, along with Allyson Stewart-Allen of International Marketing Partners and Jani Guest of Creators Inc.

Since its launch in 2016 MIBP has supported more than 1,300 scaleups and run 66 trade missions. Future plans focus on further developing its role supporting scaleups’ export ambitions. 

 

“The REACH mission helped us open doors that we never would have thought possible in such a short space of time. Albeit we already had a handful of US clients, this mission enabled us to begin conversations with major players such as Wells Fargo and Comcast, and secure major contracts delivering Inclusion and Leadership programmes with US giants, Walmart.” Gori Yahaya, CEO and Founder – UpSkill Digital

 

“Following the initial introduction facilitated by the REACH trade mission, we are now in discussions with a major retail brand. We have had other great successes off the back of REACH, including building relationships with the DIT and becoming members of GBx. The mission exceeded expectations and broadened our horizons and access to a REACH community that really wants to make a difference around diversity and inclusion.” May Al-Karooni, CEO and Founder – Globechain

Programme

Sharing in Growth (SiG) [2022]

Access to Markets

Impact for scaleups

£5.2bn

Value of contracts won

9,100

Jobs created and secured

82%

have noted increase in workforce knowledge and skills

79%

introduced new or improved processes/practices

79%

improved leadership and management behaviours

Key sectors

Engineering / Advanced Engineering Manufacturing / Advanced Manufacturing

Action through supply chains

Launched in 2013, Sharing in Growth (SiG) is working with aerospace supply chain companies to improve their productivity and competitiveness and be better placed to win a share of the global aerospace market. As a result more than 80 scaling companies on the programme have attracted nearly £135 million of private sector investment which helped to secure more than £5.2 billion in contracts – equivalent to more than 9,100 high-value jobs.  The majority of these jobs (89%) are based outside London and the South East.

In 2020 offshore wind – a significant growth sector – was added to the programme of targeted support that comes from SiG’s 100-strong team of business coaches as well as a network of global experts including the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, Deloitte and the National Physical Laboratory. 

Complex challenges resulting from the economic shock of Covid-19 and the transition to new trading arrangements with Europe and beyond has made the key programme deliverables of accelerating productivity, diversifying and winning new customers vital. In 2021, BEIS published an independent assessment showing evidence of impact, linked to SiG’s approach to transform the resilience and competitiveness of UK supply chain companies. More specifically, the report found that the programme had a significant impact on employment and turnover, while after completion of the programme, the scaling businesses’ average turnover had grown by 30% more than the control group companies. Additionally, it showed positive impact of SiG on leadership attitudes and behaviours, and business strategy which also led to improvements in wider workforce engagement, confidence and behaviour to implement changes within businesses.

SiG has continued to strengthen its remote learning offer, adding over 25 subject specific webinars and producing over 60 case studies and other online resources. SiG has also continued to provide safe onsite support when conditions have allowed. Their Alumni programme, launched in 2021, allows existing client beneficiaries of the public-funded Aerospace programme to continue their journey through a commercial agreement. In 2022, SiG was also named finalist in the Business Advisor of the Year category at the Growing Business Awards 2022 and in the Business Enabler of the Year category at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards 2022.

 

“Sharing in Growth have truly led a dazzling transformation for our business and we’re now on an accelerated growth path. I would heartily recommend Sharing in Growth. Their knowledge, pragmatic approach and single team ethos has been instrumental in enabling us to be resilient to the challenges of Covid and other market pressures, whilst significantly scaling up the business. We look forward to delivering more growth together, as one SiG and AML team, for many years to come.” Mark Hands – Director AT Advanced Manufacturing (Sheffield) Limited

Programme

Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK)

Access to Markets

Impact for scaleups

50

Scale Up Club members in 2022

£200m

raised by Scale Up Club participants

880+

Scale Up Club Alumni

£2.9m

Beyond HERizons increase in turnover

£15m+

raised by Beyond HERizons participants

Founded in 2006, Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK) supports scaling businesses accelerate their growth by removing scaleup barriers and connecting them to the global tech ecosystem.

To achieve this, SVC2UK organises a year-round series of events bringing together founders, scaleup leaders, first-time CEOs, and students with serial entrepreneurs and investors from the US and the UK. It has also provided bespoke mentoring to over 880 founders and CEOs of scaleups to help them build their businesses and make new connections in Silicon Valley and across North America.

SVC2UK champions a diverse and inclusive ecosystem for entrepreneurship, including a focus on supporting founders from diverse backgrounds. This included a Beyond HERizons programme in 2021-2022, a targeted and curated programme to help female entrepreneurs build further skills, confidence and networks to raise and secure investment. The programme also includes an annual trade mission to Silicon Valley and San Francisco.  

Every November SVC2UK hosts a summit which has been attended by over 35,000 guests to date. This year’s will return to a fully in-person programme for the first time in three years, bringing together the tech community, leading entrepreneurs, investors and global thought leaders to discuss the role technology can play in solving some of the greatest challenges of our time. Major themes for 2022 include scaling and fundraising in the current economic landscape, impact-led growth and trailblazing technologies and ideas.

SVC2UK is run out of London & Partners, a social enterprise funded by the Mayor of London, grants, partners and a portfolio of venture businesses.

Programme

The Global Scale-up Programme [2022]

Access to Markets

Key sectors

Transport & Logistics Building & Construction Creative, digital, film, games & media Defence & security Engineering / Advanced Engineering Environmental Science & Technology Farming, fisheries & forestry Finance Food & drink Healthcare Impact ventures / Social Impact Life Sciences & Biotech Manufacturing / Advanced Manufacturing Professional services Technology & Communications

Launched in 2019, the Global Scale-up Programme (GSU) is a fully-funded programme by The Growth Company and is delivered in partnership with the Department for International Trade, KPMG, DWF, Santander and Manchester Airport. It guides Greater Manchester’s scaling businesses ready to expand internationally through a 4-stage process in cohorts of 10-15 participants.

Each business participant is assigned a dedicated account manager whose role is to guide them through the programme. They begin with an onboarding during which they meet their fellow cohort members and hear from the programme partners.

This is followed by the International Growth Sprints, delivered virtually over two half days, that bring the senior management together to fully develop their international ambitions and quarterly bootcamps where the businesses receive one-to-one support from market specialists within the partner network.

The final stage is the International Visits phase which during lockdown were all virtual but returned to in-person activity in 2021. For this phase, opportunities are curated overseas using GSU’s global networks and private sector partners. The GSU team works closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to establish strong connections overseas to create warm introductions to global ecosystems for each business coming through the programme. 

To date, 222 scaling businesses, with the majority operating in the tech and manufacturing sectors have been supported by the programme. Past participants have created 104 jobs; 22 have raised £24.8m, and 27 have entered 74 new markets since joining the programme. In the next year, the programme is planning to broaden its audience alongside scaleup businesses to further support the scaling pipeline in the Greater Manchester area.

The Global Scale-up programme has been highlighted as One to Watch by the ScaleUp Institute for its role in breaking down the barriers to accessing international markets for scaling businesses in the North West, building on learnings from the Mayor’s International Business Programme in London. 

We will continue to watch the progress and impact of the Global Scale-up Programme over the next 12 months with interest. 

 

“We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive experience on the Global Scale-up programme. The team and the partners have gone out of their way to help us as we scale up our international operations, with both specific and practical support. The bootcamps have been brilliant ways to get market information in a concise and distilled way – directly with people on the ground in those markets – and the wider training and support has been critical to our planning and strategy setting. We’re now up to users in 32 countries, and with a much clearer path to sustained international growth thanks to the Global Scale-up programme!” Amy Whitell, Collctiv 

 

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME

Programme

Match-Maker Ventures [2022]

Access to Markets

Key sectors

Creative, digital, film, games & media Finance

Match-Maker Ventures (MMV) aims to build a world where business collaboration has no borders. It is working to achieve this through matching growing businesses with established corporations, accelerating the process of collaboration.

MMV’s global network now extends to around 130+ Match Makers and it has a global footprint spanning 40 countries. It is developing its presence in key strategic growth areas in Latin America and the Middle East and now maps more than 150,000 corporate connections. It continues to grow its scaleup portfolio and wider network in the financial services sector and is broadening its reach in other key sectors including telecoms. 

MMV’s approach is based on the power of peer recommendation, a factor which influences nine out of ten buying decisions. Using this approach it matches its network members who have executive experience in specific industries, understand the sector and have access to corporate customers, to growing businesses, managing the collaboration process from end to end. In the last year, MMV has shifted its portfolio approach further on to scaleups – rather than early-stage businesses – to ensure their growth accelerates and they form significant collaborations with corporate customers.

Portfolio companies are offered a phased programme reflecting the fact that selling to large corporates is not a straightforward process. Participating businesses are initially offered a sales acceleration service that examines their business model, agrees a sales approach and identifies target customer and are assigned an engagement manager. Match-makers then approach priority companies to open doors, assess the likelihood of a deal and support the company’s sales activities. In the full match-making phase MMV develops opportunities to close deals.

In 2022 MMV hosted 15+ deep dive sessions to support its portfolio of scaleups along with a Deep Dive Festival to magnify and accelerate business impact. Deep dives aim to facilitate business opportunities by giving scaleups the platform to showcase their value propositions and key business insights with industry experts.  

Its Lead Identification and Account Management function uses sophisticated analytical tools to identify business opportunities for its scaleup portfolio. To date these tools have mapped over 150,000 connections and MMV further increases scaleups visibility using its marketing channels. So far this year scaleups have been featured more than 100 times. 

A new global ‘Corp-Up report: The Age of Collaboration III’ will be published this year. A joint venture with management consultants Arthur D. Little, the study draws on the insights of 770+ early-stage and scaleup respondents from 85 countries and gives crucial regional insights as well as analysis of ongoing challenges and success factors in the collaboration ecosystem.

Previous Insight Collaboration & Procurement Checklist
Next Finance