MPs hear first-hand from start-ups about the UK crisis in scale-up finance
The Business and Trade Committee will today hear first-hand from Britain’s start-ups about the crisis in scale-up finance - and what must change to help great British ideas grow into global businesses.
Meeting details
Despite the UK being ranked first in Western Europe and second globally for start-up ecosystems, many firms still struggle to raise the investment needed to expand, facing what founders call the “valley of death” between early funding and growth capital.
Over 316,000 new firms were launched in 2023, yet only a small fraction have grown into “unicorns” valued at more than £1 billion.
The session forms part of the Committee’s inquiry into financing the real economy for national growth. MPs will hear from a range of start-ups, scale-ups and foundational firms about what holds them back - and what government could do through tax, regulation, innovation policy and public investment to crowd in more private capital.
The Committee will also test how well the British Business Bank and once thriving equity markets like AIM support entrepreneurs, and ask what single change the Chancellor could make in next month’s Budget to close Britain’s investment gap.
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “For centuries British entrepreneurs have made history by inventing the future - from the Industrial Revolution to the tech revolution. But today too many great ideas hit a wall.
“That’s why we’re listening directly to the founders who know why - because backing Britain’s innovators is the surest route to rebuilding the country’s wealth and confidence.”