Businesses discuss the challenges to scaling-up in south Warwickshire

BUSINESSES in south Warwickshire came together at a roundtable event to discuss the challenges and barriers to scaling up in the area.

The event was part of the established Driving Innovation and Growth programme, designed to inform the economic growth agenda in south Warwickshire.

Stratford District Council, the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub and Warwick University invited companies to debate the difficulties to building high-growth businesses, the opportunities for scale-up and the support available in the area.

Irene Graham, CEO at the ScaleUp Institute, led the session at SDC alongside CW Growth Hub Chief Executive Officer Craig Humphrey following the success of the first Driving Innovation and Growth Summit in February.

They were joined by Coun Susan Juned, SDC’s new leader, Peter Husband, Chief Operating Officer and Group Principal at WCG, and Ian Sterritt from InnovateUK Edge, along with a range of businesses from south Warwickshire.

The roundtable on Scaling Up focused on the specific challenges to encourage growth which had been identified at the inaugural summit and the expert advice that is needed to take companies to the next level.

Skills and access to finance were amongst the most critical issues raised. However, businesses also highlighted the complexity of the support eco-system for SMEs and stressed the importance of a single point of contact – such as the CW Growth Hub – to help navigate it.

Coun Juned said it had been an interesting and informative session.

She continued: “There was a great response from over 70 businesses who attended the Driving Innovation and Growth Summit earlier this year and it was felt it was vital to carry on the conversations as well as provide practical, high-level advice on supporting high-growth businesses in south Warwickshire.

“There were really important discussions at the roundtable from businesses in different sectors throughout south Warwickshire who gave an honest appraisal of the barriers which are preventing their further growth.

“Skills was a major area of concern which could be addressed by joining up with education providers such as WCG to equip students with the skills that businesses need, along with the importance of having a single point of contact in our area to navigate a complex eco-system to highlight the business support that is available.”

She added: “Local authorities need to look into the future, at issues such as Net Zero, as well as manage the present but there were some key points which we will now go away and hold further discussions on so that we can help companies in south Warwickshire expand and grow.”