Building Britain for Generations: A Policy Agenda for Family Businesses
Export Finance for Mid-Sized Firms The £11 billion trade finance package for SMEs 15 , alongside the British Business Bank’s £6.6 billion growth and capital support 16 , introduced as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, along with UK Export Finance, must set achievable finance targets to support scalable family-owned businesses. Mid-sized family firms have the potential to scale rapidly. It is essential that the Treasury monitors the impact of these funds and ensures that international trade support remains a key driver of growth for this cohort.
Recommendations UK Research and Innovation should implement the recommendations of Deepening University-Investor Links in a way that broadens university–business collaboration beyond spinouts and venture-backed firms. In particular, this should include: • Recognising long-term private capital, including established and family-owned firms, as strategic innovation partners.
Recommendation Assess the utilisation and impact of export funds, twice yearly, to ensure that support for international trade continues to deliver measurable growth outcomes for private and family-owned businesses.
The UK’s productivity challenge will not be solved by start-ups alone. Established mid-sized and family-owned firms, many embedded in regional supply chains, have significant capacity to absorb innovation, invest patiently, and partner with universities over the long term. Yet the current system of incentives, metrics and funding streams does not consistently prioritise sustained collaboration with this wider business base. Tony Hickson’s review for UKRI 17 , Deepening University–Investor Links , set out practical steps to strengthen collaboration between universities and long-term sources of capital, improve knowledge exchange incentives, and build deeper institutional partnerships. Implementing the core findings of the Hickson Review in a way that reflects the full structure of the UK economy would strengthen innovation diffusion and regional growth.
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Aligning UKRI funding and knowledge exchange metrics to reward sustained, place- based collaboration, not only equity commercialisation, currently excluded due to ownership structures. Removing structural barriers that discourage privately held mid-sized firms from engaging in publicly funded R&D programmes.
University Collaboration with Mid-Sized Family Firms
Universities, just like family businesses, are integral parts of their local communities. The 170 UK universities help build Britain’s talent for generations. Innovation policy, however, remains disproportionately focused on venture-capital- backed start-ups and equity-based spinouts. While these firms are important, they represent only a small part of the UK economy.
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15 UK lenders step up with £11 billion push to back British businesses – GOV.UK 16 Press release – 23 June, 2025 | British Business Bank. 17 Deepening University-investor links a review by Tony Hickson, February 2026 https://www.ukri.org/publications/deepening-university-investor-links/
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