Start-ups experience unprecedented growth
The top start-up companies in the UK recorded unprecedented growth in the last year, expanding at six times the rate of the rest of Britain’s businesses.
According to data, the Future Fifty – a group of Britain’s best emerging tech businesses – grew its workforce by 30% last year while the national average for staff increases was just 5%.
Director of the group, Philipp Stoeckl, described start-ups as “a leading source of innovation and jobs” and said it was “important that we continue to attract and support the world’s most promising companies to grow and scale their businesses in the UK”.
In order to do that we not only need to acknowledge current levels of growth but also ensure that financial considerations are reviewed closely to prevent overspending or future difficulty.
Crunching the numbers
Some of the biggest concerns which SME owners have are financial and this can often deter them from making investments or spending on anything deemed ‘non-essential’.
While streamlining money matters in this way is highly recommended, it is still worth identifying a few key areas for spending which could prove beneficial in the long-run.
While insolvency advice and other forms of business recovery are a last-resort which can help businesses get over past issues with money, most businesses will want to avoid such action.
However, this doesn’t mean cutting spending altogether as some investments are needed to grow a business; staff, training and technology are key examples.
Given the figures pertaining to Future Fifty companies, SMEs could thrive over coming months if they invest money and raise funding effectively.
Data showed that the top SMEs raised £433 million in funding between them over the last year and employ in excess of 17,000 people throughout the world with software developers their most hired position.
More than half of all advertised jobs with Future Fifty firms were for this type of role while customer service positions and sales jobs also frequently listed – accounting for 11% and 9% of vacancies respectively.
SMEs looking to recreate this growth for themselves should look carefully at the jobs they need to fill and ensure any investments or expenditure is justified to prevent potential financial backlash.
By Phil Smith