Background

Greater Manchester (GM) continues to play a pivotal role in supporting high-growth businesses across a range of sectors, particularly in technology, manufacturing, and health innovation. As we move through 2024, the focus has notably shifted towards enhancing leadership development, financial readiness, and prioritising sustainability. While international expansion remains a significant ambition for many companies, ongoing geopolitical challenges have had a tangible impact, particularly in the manufacturing sector, where the need for resilience and adaptability has become ever more pressing. Businesses across the region still face familiar challenges, including a shortage of technical skills, difficulties in developing mid-level management, and accessing a sufficient pool of talent. In line with these challenges, GM’s strategic focus continues to steer towards net-zero ambitions, the integration of green technologies, and creating social value within the local economy.

Despite a generally improved economic outlook in the UK – marked by a drop in interest rates and inflation – the scale-up landscape in GM has largely remained consistent with trends observed in the previous year. Issues around investor caution persist, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing and life sciences, where businesses are facing extended funding rounds and a diminished appetite for investment. This has led to a lengthening of the timescales required to secure necessary funding, making it harder for businesses to capitalise on their potential growth. However, there are also encouraging signs of recovery and resilience. Companies in sectors like digital, creative technologies, engineering, and green innovation are reporting increased profits and have begun to invest more heavily in R&D and digital transformation. This renewed optimism is expected to fuel further scale-up activities in the year ahead.

SCALE-UP PROGRAMMES

In 2024, Greater Manchester’s scale-up ecosystem continues to be shaped by a series of tailored programmes designed to address the specific needs of high-growth businesses. Among the key initiatives is the ASCEND Scaleup Programme, which launched in September 2024. This six-month development programme is designed to support 25 high-growth founders, offering them personalised guidance through workshops, coaching, and mentoring. KPMG will play a central role in delivering hands-on workshops focused on transforming strategic visions into actionable growth plans. Participants will also have the opportunity to join an elite network of entrepreneurs, with additional experiential learning opportunities, such as a visit to the Web Summit in Lisbon.

The Create Growth Programme, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, will continue to run until March 2025, supporting creative industry businesses to scale. This programme places a strong emphasis on leadership development, inclusive growth, and improving businesses’ readiness for investment. As part of the programme, selected participants will travel to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Texas, representing Manchester’s creative sector on the global stage, helping businesses forge international connections and increase exposure.

Greater Manchester’s health and life sciences sector will also continue to benefit from the Health Innovation Catalyst. This programme, which is designed to accelerate innovation within the sector, provides a comprehensive suite of expert-led workshops covering topics such as regulatory frameworks, innovation funding, and preparing for investment. Participants will have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to potential investors, further enhancing their growth prospects.

In the food and drink sector, the Recipe4Success programme continues to provide much-needed support to businesses looking to scale. The programme focuses on developing the investment readiness of participating businesses through a combination of pitching events, digital marketing, and guidance on regulatory issues. Having successfully delivered 12 cohorts to date, the programme will welcome its 13th cohort in September 2024.

There are also a range of more public and private programmes across the North West region – find out more on the scaleup support finder here. 

IMPACT AND RESULTS

The results from Greater Manchester’s scale-up support initiatives have been positive over the past year. The Create Growth Programme, for example, has supported over 90 businesses, with 16 securing funding, and seven businesses representing Greater Manchester at SXSW in Austin. The Recipe4Success initiative has supported over 184 businesses, including 90 female-led and 62 minority-led enterprises, helping them gain international exposure and win numerous awards. The now-concluded Global Scaleup Programme, which supported 250 businesses, led to the creation of 115 new jobs and enabled 80 companies to enter new markets, securing over £3 million in investment.

LESSONS LEARNED

While the outlook is promising, there are key lessons to be learned from the past year. Despite a strong appetite for growth, many businesses remain risk-averse, particularly when it comes to implementing specialist recommendations or engaging with new growth opportunities. Concerns around sustainability and the ethical implications of scaling up are also common barriers to progress. To address these challenges, Greater Manchester’s programmes will continue to focus on providing 1-2-1 mentoring, alongside peer support networks, which have proven effective in boosting confidence and fostering innovation among business leaders.

FUTURE PLANS

Looking ahead, Greater Manchester’s sectoral priorities for 2024 remain focused on digital, creative, and technological innovation, alongside the ongoing development of health innovation and green technologies. Scale-up businesses are also being encouraged to address key challenges around leadership development, access to finance, and sustainability, as these areas continue to be central to GM’s long-term economic ambitions. A significant development for the coming year is the formalisation of the Manchester-Austin partnership, which will be established in 2025 as part of the Sister Cities initiative. This partnership is expected to open new opportunities for Greater Manchester’s creative and digital scale-ups, providing better access to the Texas and US markets.

LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS

According to ScaleUp Institute analysis of data received directly from ONS for years 2018-2021, the following picture emerges on the local environment.

Local Authorities located within Greater Manchester have a moderate-low density of scaleups, and the trend between 2018 and 2021 reveals the following:

Scaleups by Density: Moderate

The vertical axis of this matrix shows where local authorities located in this locality stand compared to the rest of the UK: 6 of the 10 local authorities have a below median density of scaleups measured by employment growth and 7 of the 10 local authorities have an above median density of scaleups measured by turnover growth.

Scaleup Trends Over Time: Mixed

The horizontal axis of this matrix shows whether the density of scaleups has increased or decreased over time relative to the rest of the UK: 5 of the 10 local authorities are above the median in terms of improving the density of scaleups by employment in their community and 8 of the 10 local authorities are above the median for scaleups by turnover.

The ScaleUp Institute will continue to monitor this closely in the coming years to track whether local initiatives move the dial in the right direction for increasing the density of scaleups.