Coaching for high growth SMEs
The new Business Coaching for Growth programme (BCG), aims to propel the nation’s most promising high growth SME’s and boost economic growth. It is designed to achieve maximum economic advantage to the UK by increasing the number of businesses that achieve genuine high growth; the businesses that contribute the most too economic and employment growth.
BCG is an ambitious new programme, coordinated nationally but delivered at a local level, which provides high quality coaching support for up to 10,000 SMEs a year with high growth potential. The programme provides coaches to work face to face with senior management teams, to help them develop and implement their strategies and overcome the challenges that businesses face on a range of issues such as sales, raising finance or exploiting innovation.
The programme is designed with the specific needs of a growing business at its centre, the programme provides businesses with bespoke solutions to their growth challenges. Along with the high quality coaching, the programme gives growing SMEs a highly networked offer, and will connect the high growth potential businesses to:
- External finance – Business Angel Networks, Venture Capitalists.
- Business Support Services – Trade (UK Trade and Investment), Innovation (Technology Strategy Board), Intellectual Property (Intellectual Property Office), Manufacturing (Manufacturing Advisory Service) as well as private sector delivered solutions.
- Access to Premises - science parks, universities, business incubators.
BCG will target established businesses and start ups with the potential to achieve fast or high growth rates as defined by the criteria below:
- SMEs with 10 or more employees with the potential to increase turnover or employment by an annual average rate of 20% over three years.
- SMEs with fewer than 10 employees that over three years have the potential to increase employment by at least 7 employees or annual turnover by £0.75m.
- Start-ups with potential to achieve turnover of £1m within three years of starting trading, or to have at least 10 employees within three years.
The programme will be delivered by the Coaching for Growth Consortium. The consortium comprises Grant Thornton, Pera, Oxford Innovation, and Winning Pitch along with seven other key delivery partners with excellent connections to local support providers right across the country.
Further information can be found on the Consortiums interim website
Contact
Chris Hepworth (chris.hepworth@bis.gsi.gov.uk, 020 7215 1069)
