The Future of Growth Capital

Access to appropriate Growth Capital is the fuel to maintain a vibrant, innovative economy.

It is one of the key foundations to building world beating global companies and a dynamic economy that in every locality seizes opportunities and fosters jobs and sustainable growth for the long term. It is a key enabler of making the UK the best place to start and scale a business.

This report, produced by Innovate Finance, the Scaleup Institute and Deloitte explores the size of the Growth Capital Gap, the size of the Opportunity and the Solutions to address these. It is guided by the overriding principles of:

• Build on what works, creating consistency and confidence for the long term
• Close the gaps vis-a-vis international competitors
• Address short term, urgent actions
• Public and private sector partnership is key
• Address long term regional requirements
• Close the information asymmetry.

Urgent action is required to close the UK’s growth capital gap by accelerating, evolving and expanding existing initiatives under a national framework for growth.

The report stresses that closing the emerging £15bn capital gap will provide opportunities for aiding the UK’s economic recovery post-Covid, generating future prosperity and boosting regional economies, productivity, innovation and internationalism.

The report lays out five specific and practical recommendations to tackle the long-standing, structural problem of a lack of available capital for scaleup companies. They are:

• Create a ‘National Blueprint for Growth’
• Accelerate the unlocking of Institutional and Corporate Funding
• Expand and build upon the British Business Bank
• Expand the role and scale of Innovate UK
• Create a Future Opportunity Fund.