'Growth Builder' Programme To Help UK SMEs

UK firms looking to grow their businesses now have a new opportunity to do so, through expert opinion, workshops, education, investors and government assistance.

The 12-month business growth programme, called Growth Builder, officially starts today, the companies behind it have announced.

The programme is designed by NatWest, BT, UCL, Loughborough University, UKTI, the UK Business Angels Association, PIE Mapping and Fast Growth Forum.

A launch event will take place today at BT Tower, where interested parties can apply for the first programme that is scheduled to take place in April this year.

It will include monthly events, workshops and coaching groups. The organisers will form a group of 50 high-growth UK companies and work with them for the next year.

The criteria required to be recognized as a high-growth company and chosen for the programme was not disclosed. It was said that they will be chosen by a ‘panel of industry experts, each according to their own merit’.

“British start-ups are doing a great job, but more can be done to help them scale to become global and industry-leading success stories,” said Ed Wray, co-founder of Betfair and active angel investor.

“Growth Builder has been designed to tackle some of the current barriers to this. Bringing together leading players in public and private sector organisations within a collaborative peer group, the focus is on providing promising entrepreneurs with unrivalled access to the most useful names in business, angel and venture funds, global universities, Government and entrepreneurship.”

Author: Sead Fadilpašic
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