The challenges to growing and scaling family businesses
Despite these perceived barriers to growth, mid-market and scaling family businesses remain highly ambitious. Seven in ten expect to increase further in turnover or employee headcount, and six in ten believe they are outperforming their peers across the wider economy. Family businesses are also highly innovative and internationally oriented. Nine in ten have undertaken some form of innovative activity in the past three years, and more than half report a greater appetite for innovation in 2025/26 than in previous years. International expansion is central to their growth ambitions: six in ten identify overseas sales as a priority, and many are already exporting or considering expanding their physical presence abroad. However, these ambitions expose them to fragmented and complex support landscapes, reinforcing the need for more coherent and navigable public support across innovation, trade and finance pathways, including export finance.
Strategy. Overall, eight in ten are aware of at least one of these. Among those who are aware, sentiment is positive – seven in ten believe the Plan for SMEs and the Industrial Strategy would be helpful to their business, and eight in ten say the same of the Trade Strategy. These strategies include the government’s proposal for a new “concierge” service, which aligns closely with the priorities of scaling businesses. When asked what such a service should deliver, four in ten mid-market and scaling family businesses prioritise fast-tracking of innovation opportunities and collaborations (36%), support for entering new overseas markets, and improved access to fast- track procurement opportunities.
To achieve their scale-up goals, mid-market and scaling family businesses emphasise the importance of easier access to local support – rooted in local ecosystems and better coordinated across the system. Reflecting the role they play in their local economies, six in ten report being part of a local cluster. Yet 41% highlight gaps in regional support, particularly with regard to access to local investors, support for entering new markets, additional space to grow, networks of NEDs and fractional executives, and help in finding talent. Awareness of government strategies is mixed: five in ten have heard of the Plan for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, while only four in ten are aware of the Industrial Strategy or the Trade
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