Vital Growth

The importance of high-growth businesses to the recovery

Download the Vital Growth report (PDF 1.4Mb)

The uncertain recovery has put economic growth at the top of the political agenda. And in particular, high-growth businesses have become big economic news.

NESTA’s 2009 research summary The Vital 6 Per Cent, highlighted the importance of the small number of fast-growing businesses that between 2002 and 2008 generated the lion’s share of employment growth in the UK. These businesses can be found across all sectors, and include both established firms and start-ups, small businesses and large ones. This finding has attracted the attention of policymakers and commentators, and has become an important part of the debate on economic growth in the UK.

This new summary argues that high-growth businesses remain vital to the economy, despite the recession, and that the government’s policy for fostering economic growth needs to have highgrowth businesses and their particular needs at its heart.

Published
March 2011

Author
NESTA