Lancashire firms must seize chance for rapid growth, says awards sponsor

According to most definitions, high-growth businesses are those that consistently increase their headcount or turnover by more than 20 per cent a year over three consecutive years.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says that high-growth enterprises like this represent a small share of the total business population - between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.

Scaling-up like this requires sizeable growth in revenues too, and while recent research by the national business accountancy and advisory firm Hazlewoods finds that only 175 UK businesses have sustained revenue growth of 20 per cent or more in the last five years, the conditions for high growth are improving according to Amin Vepari, programme manager at Two Zero Lancashire, which is led by Lancashire County Council.

He said: “We’re starting to see businesses everywhere putting a real focus on making up lost ground following Covid, and as things continue to loosen up, that creates more opportunities to grow.

“This renewed economic activity and combined with a strong talent pool creates the perfect conditions for high-growth companies.

“We have some excellent high-growth businesses in Lancashire and as this scaleup community grows Two Zero will continue to support it through our programmes, insights and opportunities to network with likeminded business leaders.”

Two Zero was founded in 2019 by Lancashire County Council. It runs a number of programmes, peer to peer learning, events and creates insights that help Lancashire business leaders develop their scale-up mindset and build companies that are resilient, productive, innovative and profitable.

This year, it is sponsoring the Scale-up Business of the Year award at the Be Inspired Business Awards.

Amin said: “Past winners of this category, like Sales Geek who we supported through our Scaleup Resurgence programme and who went on to too take home the trophy last year, have really set a high bar.

“As a judge, I’m really excited to see which fast-growing Lancashire businesses come forward this time around.

“It’s easy to talk a good story on growth, so we’ll be keen to see concrete evidence of turnover and headcount rising rapidly in a way that’s sustainable.”

The BIBAs deadline is 5pm on April 8.