i Scaleups2020
The
Index
Scaleup
ii Scaleups
Foreword
2020 marks the publication of the fourth edition of the
ScaleUp Index, the only report that examines all the UK’s
‘visible’ scaleups in depth. Each year we seek to expand
the analysis as part of our commitment to improving the
quality of data that is publicly available on the scaleup
community and this year is no diff erent.
With the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020 it has never
been more important to understand who our scaleup
growth champions are, as it is this community of scaleups
who with the right support, will drive the UK’s economy
forward in 2021 and beyond. Despite everything, as an
ecosystem we should be very encouraged by the good
news that with the concerted eff orts over the past fi ve
years we have more scaleups breaking through the
£10m+ turnover than ever before. In 2020 we now have
7,474 visible scaleups - a 37% jump year on year, with 250
more listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative
Investment Market (AIM). And pleasingly, the number of
female founded visible scaleups has doubled in a year.
The Index continues to map the state of the UK’s scaleups
across sectors, geographies and more. In this year’s edition
we have found:
●
The overall number of visible scaleups has almost
doubled since we fi rst published an Index in 2017
when we were able to identify 3,856 visible scaleups.
●
For the fi rst time we have been able to analyse scaling
events and have found that on average, 40% of scaling
events are based on headcount and turnover; 41% are
just turnover; and 19% are just headcount.
●
Visible scaleups are found across sectors and across
the UK with notable scaleup clusters outside of
London in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow,
Edinburgh and Cardiff .
●
Visible scaleups have shown resilience during the
Covid-19 pandemic, with almost 80% showing
indications of moderate to positive impact. Even more
positively, 1,048 scaleups (14%) have created job
opportunities throughout the crisis.
●
£5.32b was invested into visible scaleups in 2019.
●
There were 20 deals worth more than £50m
accounting for £3.82b (72%) of the total invested
amount.
●
BGF remains the top investor in visible scaleups for
the fourth year in a row, having made 124 investments
worth £0.95bn since 2011, while Soft bank has invested
the greatest amount (£1.85bn over 4 deals).
●
The Index again reinforces the importance of Innovate
UK grants to scaleups with £286m leveraging £5.2bn
of private sector money, highlighting the ‘kitemark’
eff ect Innovate UK has in crowding in private sector
backers to scaling businesses.
● Nine new investors have entered the top 20 list for
investments into visible scaleups: Octopus Ventures,
Notion Capital, Scottish Investment Bank, MMC
Ventures, Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund, Passion
Capital, Archangels, Cambridge Innovation Capital
(CIC) and Angel CoFund.
● We have expanded our investor research to include
business angels and networks given the key early stage
role they play as investors in our scaling businesses.
This report highlights their essential role with a
signifi cant £2.4bn worth of investments made by
angel investors to these visible scaleups since 2011.
●
The Scottish angel syndicate Archangels is the top
Angel investor into visible scaleups, having made
22 investments into visible scaleups since 2011. This
shows the impact of this model.
●
The total number of female founded visible scaleups
has doubled in a year. And 52% of scaleups have at
least one female c-suite member, up from 48% in 2019.
The 2020 ScaleUp Index continues to show the breadth
of the sectors these companies operate in; that they are
scaling up and down the country; that they are more
resilient to external shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic;
and that they grow faster with the right kind of fi nance -
whether it is private equity, public markets, or public sector
grants. We must continue to support these companies
because their growth adds billions of pounds to the UK’s
economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Getting
more scaleups to a £10m+ threshold should be a constant
goal for us as we move forward.
We are grateful for the continued support of our partners.
Without this we would not be able to produce with
Beauhurst such critical research that helps further the
understanding of a vital segment of the economy.
irene graham
ceo, the scaleup institute
59,494
visible scaling legal entities
examined
7,474
unique scaleup businesses
26,339
subsidiary companies
excluded
1,877
acquired companies and
acquirors excluded
7,145
parents and subsidiaries of
listed businesses excluded
3,815
charities, trusts, CICs
excluded
14,488
foreign-HQ, LLPs,
financial vehicles excluded
59,494 legal entities that
filed full accounts matched
the OECD scaleup criteria
in at least one three-year
period in 2011 to 09/2020.
This report has not looked
at charities as their aims
are materially distinct from
those of fast-growing
commercial enterprises.
If a group has many scaling
subsidiaries, only the single
overarching business has
been included.
We exclude companies that
began scaling only after
being acquired, or only
scaled due to making an
acquisition.
Listed companies are
excluded for the majority of
the report, except for in the
final section which focuses
on scaleups listed on AIM.
We did not include
companies that are part of
a business headquartered
abroad. We also excluded
LLPs and financial vehicles.
Note: Companies that have
more than one reason for
exclusion will be double
counted in the exclusion
figures above.
reasons for exclusion
About this report
about this report
This report examines ‘visible scaleups’ in the UK: a visible scaleup is a
company that (i) meets the 20% OECD definition of a high-growth firm
(see below) and (ii) files full accounts at Companies House.

oecd high-growth firms
All enterprises with average annualised growth greater than 20% per
annum, over a three year period, with at least 10 employees at the
start of the observation are defined as high-growth firms. Growth can
be measured by the number of employees or by turnover. Companies
that have grown because of mergers, takeovers and acquisitions are
excluded.

full accounts
UK companies are only required to disclose their turnover if two of the
following are true:
• annual turnover exceeds £10.2m
• assets exceed £5.1m
• more than 50 employees
Only companies that meet two or more of these criteria or those who
have chosen to declare their turnover count as 20% visible scaleups.
We look forward to the fulfilment of current policy recommendations
making ‘invisible scaleups’ discoverable too.

sectors
The businesses in this report have been classified according to
Beauhurst’s proprietary sector matrix and are tagged with as many
sectors as are relevant. In this report scaleups operating in multiple
sectors have been double-counted.

acknowledgements
We would like to thank the ScaleUp Institute for all of their support in
the production of this report.
visible scaleups
(i) meet the 20% OECD
definition of a high-growth firm
(ii) file full accounts at
Companies House
1

Overview
4

Types of scaling
5

Scaleups facing COVID-19
6

Scaleups tackling 21st century challenges

7

Investment
9

Beyond mega
10

Top investors
13

Investor type
14

Angel investors
15

Turnover growth demographics
16

Headcount growth demographics
17

Equity investment and turnover
18

Longest scaling companies
19

Grants
20

Top sectors for grants
21

Grants by region
22

Grants and equity
Contents.
23

Company ages
24

Growth by age
25

Equity by age
26

Exports by age
27

People: Age
28

People: Gender
29

People: Nationalities
30

People: Employee distribution
32

Advisors
33

Regions
35

Local authorities
37

Local Enterprise Partnerships
39

Sectors
40

Top business and professional services sectors
41

Top industrial sectors
42

Top built environment & infrastructure sectors
43

Top technology sectors
44

Largest scaleups by sector
51

Directory
45

AIM Scaleups
2 OverviewMethodology
announced equity investMent into visible scaleups
top sectors by nuMber of visible scaleups
top leps by nuMber of visible scaleups
(excluding london)
top visible scaleups by eMployee count
top visible scaleups by turnover
59,494
visible scaling legal entities
examined
52,020
legal entities excluded (chari-
ties, PLCs, foreign HQ, dupli-
cate subsidiaries)
7,474
unique scaleup businesses
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
£5.32b
£3.24b
£5.55b
£2.20b
£2.48b
£1.91b
£0.84b
£0.96b
£0.90b
Amount raised
Number of deals
190
174
172
166
250
221
222
233
127
920
622
548
416
398
Property/land development and construction
Other manufacturing and engineering
Other business and professional services for businesses
Distribution
Food and drink processors (including quality control)
354
341
300
201
183
South East
Leeds City Region
Greater Manchester
Enterprise M3
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough
OCS
Cordant Group
BestWay Wholesale
Home Bargains
2 Sisters Food Group
77,701
39,513
29,172
22,816
20,746
Greenergy
Sovereign Global
ED&F Man
Sunbelt Rentals
Palmer and Harvey
£16.8b
£6.56b
£6.22b
£5.05b
£4.44b
2 OverviewKey figures 01/01/2011 – 31/08/2020
top equity investors by deals into visible scaleups 01/01/2011 – 31/08/2020
visible scaleups in london by
local authority
visible scaleups in uK by
local authority
7,474
number of visible scaleups
£286m
Innovate UK grants
493
female-led visible scaleups
1,550
visible scaleups using equity
Camden
174
Westminster
371
City of London
303
Number of Scaleups
1
100+
BGF
Growth Capital
Index
Ventures
Crowdcube
Balderton
Capital
Accel
Octopus
Ventures
124
53
52
51
41
41
50%
scaling for 2+ years
31%
scaling for 3+ years
3 Scaleups
4 Scaling Types of scaling. On average, 40% of scaling events
are based on headcount and turnover; 42% are just
turnover; and 19% are just headcount.
age of scaleups and type of scaling achieved (1/11/2011 - 31/08/2020)
<5 years
5 to 10 years
10 to 15 years
15 to 20 years
20+ years
Scaled both headcount and turnover
Scaled headcount
Scaled turnover
31%
28%
29%
28%
23%
13%
18%
20%
20%
18%
56%
54%
51%
52%
59%
“ Through our Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK program, we are proud
to support the next generation of UK Scaleups and encouraged by their continuing
success. Small businesses are vital to the economic recovery and as they navigate the
challenges of COVID-19 it is more important than ever that entrepreneurs are supported to
continue their growth journey.”
Charlotte Keenan
Head of the Off ice of Corporate International, Goldman Sachs
5 COVID-19 Scaleups facing COVID-19. Scaleups have shown resilience
during the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost 80% indicating
moderate to positive impact. Even more positively, 14%
have created jobs throughout the crisis.
the impact of covid-19 on scaleups
10%
12%
46%
21%
11%
<1%
covid-19 impact by amount of private investment received
No
fundraisings
Less than
£100k
£100k to
£500k
£500k to
£1m
£1m to
£5m
£5m to
£10m
£10m to
£25m
Greater
than £25m
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1,048 scaleups
creating job opportunities
throughout the crisis
0 scaleups
have ceased operations as of yet
Critical
Severe
Moderate
Low
Potentially positive
Positive (Recovery)
Beauhurst analysts have manually classified all visible scaleups based on the impact that Covid-19 is having on operations.
Classifications are based on company websites, press coverage, social media and business model analysis.
6 ChallengesNAVENIO
Oxford, South East
Co-founded by Professor Niki Trigoni (CTO) and Tim Weil (CEO), this scaleup
tracks the location and path of people in indoor environments using machine
learning and smartphone data. It has partnered with a number of NHS trusts to
improve safety and eff iciency in the face of Covid-19. In June, the company was
awarded a £50,000 Innovate UK grant.
FIRST MILE
Islington, London
First Mile is a waste recycling company, processing a variety of materials such
as food, clothes and batteries. In July, the company launched a new personal
protective equipment (PPE) waste disposal service to help organisations
tackle the infl ux of Covid-19 related waste. Also in July, First Mile expanded
its portfolio of London-based customers with the acquisition of waste and
recycling collector Giraff e Recycling.
FINNEBROGUE
Downpatrick, Northern Ireland
This County Down sausage and bacon producer is investing £25m in a new
factory as part of a push into the plant-based food market. It is expected
that the move will create 300 jobs, taking the company’s headcount to 1,200
by the end of 2021. The Environment Secretary, George Eustice, has praised
Finnebrogue's investment.
MAGTEC
Sheff ield, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber
Founded in 1992, Magtec produces electric drive systems for a range of vehicle
types, including off -road and military. In June, the business led a consortium of
transport companies to win a £6m grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre
(APC) to support the creation of low-carbon transportation technologies. It is
expected that the work will support another 65 employees at Magtec and an
additional 165 across the region.
Scaleups tackling 21st century challenges.
7 Investmentannounced equity investMents in scaleups (1/1/11– 31/8/20)
Investment. Despite a number of megadeals
(£50m+), 2019 fell slightly short of the 2017 record
for total equity investment into scaleups.
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
(incomplete)
Greensill
£1.13b
babylon
£454m
Deliveroo
£449m
OakNorth Bank
£340m
CMR Surgical
£195m
OVO Energy
£200m
£2.70b
£5.32b
£3.24b
£5.55b
£2.20b
£2.48b
£1.91b
£0.84b
£0.96b
£0.90b
90
190
174
172
166
250
221
222
233
127
8 Investment166
announced equity deals
£5.32b
total raised
£36.2m
average deal size
top scaleups by total aMount of equity raised in 2019
2019 Key figures
sector
Business banking and
fi nancial services
how much have
they raised?
£1.13b
sector
Mobile apps; Personal
healthcare services
how much have
they raised?
£454m
sector
Internet platform;
Takeaways
how much have
they raised?
£449m
sector
Medical instrumentation
how much have
they raised?
£195m
sector
Business banking and
fi nancial services
how much have
they raised?
£340m
sector
Energy utilities services
how much have
they raised?
£200m
166 announced equity investments were made into
visible scaleups in 2019. The two largest deals were
secured by Greensill, worth £615m and £511m.
9 Investmentequity investMents in scaleups by siZe (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
Beyond mega. There were 20 deals worth more than £50m
in 2019, accounting for £3.82b (72%) of the £5.32b raised.
<£500k
£500k to £1m
£1m to £2m
£2m to £5m
£5m to £10m £10m to £50m
>£50m
£15.13b
£10.80b
£0.81b
£0.26b
£3.05b
£0.39b
£2.38b
1,496
550
579
764
447
536
113
Deal numbers
Amount invested
Top figure
10 Investorstop investors by nuMber of equity investMents into visible scaleups (1/1/11 - 31/08/2020)
Top investors. Of the 40 fi rms backed by the British
Business Bank in 2019, 29 have invested in one or more
visible scaleups since 2011.
fund Manager
nuMber of deals
BGF Growth Capital
124
Index Ventures
53
Crowdcube
52
Balderton Capital
51
Accel
41
Octopus Ventures
41
Draper Esprit
38
Woodford Investment Management
35
Notion Capital
33
Seedrs
33
Scottish Investment Bank
32
MMC Ventures
26
Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund
25
IP Group
24
Lloyds Development Capital (LDC)
24
Passion Capital
24
Archangels
23
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC)
23
Angel CoFund
22
Touchstone Innovations
22
Active fund
Inactive fund
New entry to Top 20
“ British Patient
Capital has now
committed over £1 billion
across 42 investments
in venture and venture
growth capital funds. With
over 500 innovative high-
growth companies in the
underlying portfolio, we
are proud to be supporting
so many entrepreneurs
with the ambition to build
successful, world-class
business. It is encouraging
to see that in this year’s
ScaleUp Index, almost
75% of the funds backing
scaleup businesses are
invested in by the British
Business Bank.”
Catherine Lewis La Torre,
CEO, British Business Bank
11 InvestorsGreenoaks
Capital
Management
£771m
4
T. Rowe
Price
£808m
3
Ribbit
Capital
£831m
11
Balderton
Capital
£908m
50
BGF
Growth
Capital
£949m
124
Digital
Sky
Technologies
£1,150m
8
Index
Ventures
£1,150m
53
Woodford
Investment
Management
£1,340m
35
Accel
£1,370m
41
Softbank
Vision
Fund
£1,850m
4
Top investors. With 124 deals, BGF remains the top investor
into visible scaleups by number of investments. Softbank
takes the top spot by amount invested with £1.85b spread
over four deals.
top investors into scaleups (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
12 InvestorsCambridge
Innovation
Capital
£521m
24
Fidelilty
Management
& Research
Company
£523m
2
Draper
Esprit
£533m
41
Kinnevik
£547m
3
Eight
Roads
Ventures
£555m
17
Toscafund
£568m
6
Clermont
Group
£571m
3
Technology
Crossover
Ventures
£645m
5
CPP
Investment
Board
£675m
1
Temasek
£723m
5
Total number of investments
Total value of investments
Top figure
“ This is a very promising and timely report on the performance, growth and motivations
of scaleups against the unprecedented backdrop and economic challenge of the
global pandemic. The UK is one of the world leaders when it comes to innovation, discovery
and creativity – but that potential can only be driven by supporting the country’s scaleups.
We are proud not only to be the most prolifi c investor in these companies, but also to
have continued to build momentum and maintain our investment run rate throughout the
pandemic. This has been enabled by our regional and decentralised model, allowing us to
deploy capital quickly into businesses who are continuing on their growth journey. However,
the UK urgently needs more equity capital if we are to drive the future growth of scaleups at
large, and the economy more broadly.”
Stephen Welton
Executive Chair, BGF
13 InvestorsPrivate Equity and Venture Capital
Angel Networks & Business Angel(s)
Corporate
118
387
1,021
Investor type. Scaleups use a range of
private equity finance options, dominated by
venture capital and angels.
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of dealsAngel Network & Business Angel/s
Corporate
Private Equity and Venture Capital
top private investor types by the number of announced deals into scaleups (1/11/2011 - 31/08/2020)
announced deal numbers by top private investor types (1/1/11 - 31/08/2020)
“ This year’s ScaleUp Index has identified the vital role that Business Angels have been
playing in bringing both early stage equity and business experience to a significant
number of the UK’s scaleups. Many of the Angel groups in our community have been
specifically identified as making a considerable number of investments into businesses on
their scale up journey, with Archangels topping the list with 22 deals into scale ups since 2011.
This clearly shows the importance of angels and the need to increase the capacity of the Angel
investment community to enable many more scaling businesses to benefit from early stage
equity in all parts of the UK.”
Jenny Tooth OBE
CEO of UK Business Angels Association
14 AngelsArchangels
Envestors
Cambridge Angels
London Business Angels
TRI Capital
Juno Syndicate
Angel CoFund
Mustard Seed
Cambridge Capital Group
Clearly Social Angels (CSA)
23
14
12
10
7
7
7
5
5
4
Angel investors. Scottish angel syndicate Archangels
tops the ranking with 22 investments into scaleups
since 2011.
£283m
total value of deals backed by angel networks
£2.40b
total value of deals backed by business angel/s
investMent by angels and angel networK (1/1/11 - 31/08/2020)
top angel networKs by nuMber of investMents into scaleups (1/1/11 - 31/08/2020)
15 Growth Turnover growth demographics. Correlation or
causation; companies with higher turnover growth are
more likely to have raised equity funding.
turnover growth (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
20-40%
40-60%
60-80%
80-100%
More than 100%
80%
69%
61%
60%
61%
20%
31%
39%
40%
39%
Did not use equity
Used equity financing
16 GrowtheMployee count growth (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
77%
68%
64%
64%
73%
23%
32%
36%
36%
27%
20-40%
40-60%
60-80%
80-100%
More than 100%
Did not use equity
Used equity financing
Headcount growth demographics. Headcount growth
rate correlates with the use of equity finance up to 100%
growth. It is rare for companies to grow their employee
count by more than 100%.
17 Growthturnover growth rate by aMount of equity investMent (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
Less than £1m
invested
£1m to £5m
invested
£5m to £10m
invested
£10m to £20m
invested
£20m to £50m
invested
More than £50m
invested
20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%20-40%40-60%60-80%80-100%More than 100%76%13%5%2%5%67%17%6%3%6%72%16%5%3%5%69%11%10%7%4%62%17%11%6%3%46%20%12%14%8% Equity investment and turnover. Scaleups that have raised
more equity show higher turnover growth rates.
18 Growthspotlight scaleups
sector
Telecommunications
services
years scaled
10 years
sector
Business banking and
fi nancial services
years scaled
11 years
sector
Insurance services
years scaled
10 years
Longest scaling companies. GH Financials persists as the
longest scaling company, having qualifi ed as a scaleup by
turnover for 11 years.
sector
Agriculture and
farming; Food and
drink processors
years scaled
8 years
sector
Supply chain;
Transport operators
years scaled
8 years
sector
Building materials;
Plastics
years scaled
8 years
19 Grants1,262
grants to visible scaleups
£286m
IUK grant funding
£227k
average grant size
innovate uK grants to scaleups (1/1/11 – 31/8/20 )
Key figures (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
(incomplete)
£24.4m
£36.3m
£43.0m
£45.9m
£23.6m
£34.3m
£26.4m
£31.0m
£17.1m
£4.3m
Value of grants
Top value
Number of grants
31
114
168
139
188
101
164
143
103
112
Grants. Over £36m of Innovate UK grant funding went to
visible scaleups in 2019 via 103 awards. This resulted in a
record average annual grant size of £352,000.
20 GrantsMETHODOLOGY NOTE:
As we fi nd new scaleups, we include their entire grant history. For example, this means a scaleup
found in 2018 can cause the 2011 fi gure for grants awarded to scaleups to increase. The chart on the
facing page therefore depicts all grants ever awarded to a company that has become a scaleup between
01/01/2011 to 31/08/2020.
top sectors by nuMber of scaleups receiving innovate uK grants
Top sectors for grants. Scaleups in manufacturing sectors
remain the top recipients of Innovate UK grant funding,
with automotive and cleantech emerging as focus areas.
316
141
141
118
95
88
83
80
73
63
Other manufacturing and engineering
Other CleanTech
Automotive
Other hardware
Other technology/IP-based businesses
Research tools/reagents
Other business and professional services
Materials technology
Other software
Energy reduction technology
21 Grantsall grants to scaleups by region (1/1/11 – 31/8/20)
North West
£9.4m
Wales
£9.1m
N.Ireland
£2.3m
West Midlands
£32.6m
South West
£22.7m
Scotland
£24.4m
Yorkshire and
Humberside
£17.9m
East Midlands
£18.3m
North East
£6.3m
East of England
£38.7m
London
£40.1m
South East
£64.6m
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
£2m
£65m
6
Grants by region. Scaleups in the South East have
received £64.6m worth of grant funding since 2011—
the most grant funding received by any region.
22 Grants£26.3b
total equity investment into
non-IUK backed companies
£20.9m
average amount raised in equity
by non-IUK backed companies
£5.21b
total equity investment into
IUK backed companies
£24.4m
average amount raised in equity
by IUK backed companies
NOTE:
Innovate UK also off ers innovation loans for SMEs. A total of up to £50 million has been committed in
fi ve initial competitions and a further two competitions will make £25 million available for business
innovation projects.
Grants and equity. On average, companies that win
an Innovate UK grant raise more equity finance than
those that just rely on equity finance.
equity investMent into scaleups with and without iuK funding (1/1/11– 31/8/20)
“ We welcome all the fi ndings in this years ScaleUp Index report and it is especially
welcoming to see that this year despite the conditions brought about by the
Coronavirus pandemic we have a 37% increase in scaleup companies over the previous year
and that we are just shy of 7,500 visible scaleups in the UK. Especially welcome is that female
founding scaleups have doubled this year, this is something to celebrate and follows closely the
eff ect we have seen through Innovate UK’s Women in Business programme. Regionally we now
have much more representation from scaleup clusters outside of London including clusters in
the Devolved Nations.”
Simon Edmonds
Deputy Executive Chair and Chief Business Off icer, Innovate UK
23 Ageproportion of visible scaleups by age
Company ages. Companies incorporated more than 15
years ago make up 72% of the scaleup population.
<5 years
5 to 10 yrs
10 to 15 yrs
15 to 20 yrs
20+ yrs
11%
16%
16%
56%
1%
“ The majority of
visible scaleups
have been trading for 20
years or more. 86% of
these older businesses
achieved scaling without
the external investment
available to the youngest
generation of high-growth
companies (p. 25). While an
impressive achievement,
this also alludes to an
exciting future for scaleups,
enabled by the increasing
availability of public and
private investment in the
UK. We expect to see more
scaleups and increasing
growth among them, both
for the emerging cohort
of growing companies
who will soon reach the
£10+ turnover visibility
threshold, as well as for
older companies that may
be fundraising for the first
time.”
Ava Scott
Research and Consultancy
Associate, Beauhurst
24 Ageaverage turnover growth rate by age of coMpany
20-40%
40-60%
60-80%
80-100%
More than 100%
< 5 years5 to 10 years10 to 15 years15 to 20 years20+ years< 5 years5 to 10 years10 to 15 years15 to 20 years 20+ years< 5 years5 to 10 years10 to 15 years15 to 20 years20+ years< 5 years5 to 10 years10 to 15 years15 to 20 years20+ years< 5 years5 to 10 years10 to 15 years15 to 20 years20+ years13%19%15%50%3%20%21%15%37%6%26%23%11%35%6%10%23%23%13%31%12%28%16%10%34% Growth by age. Companies more than 20 years old are
most likely to have turnover growth rates of over 100%.
25 Age Equity by age. Older scaleups are the least likely to
use equity finance. Introducing new shareholders
becomes more di¬icult over time.
proportion of scaleups using equity financing by coMpany age
Did not use equity
Used equity financing
10 to 15 years
< 5 years
5 to 10 years
15 to 20 years
20+ years
63%
58%
72%
78%
86%
37%
42%
31%
22%
14%
26 Exports£11.3M
£12.6M
£22.1M
£21.8M
£6.5M
<5 years
5 to 10 years
10 to 15 years
15 to 20 years
20+ years
Exports by age. Nearly a third of scaleups declare overseas
turnover. Scaleups that are more than 15 years old have
the highest average overseas turnover.
average overseas turnover by scaleups in 2019
28%
of visible scaleups declared
overseas turnover in 2019
27 People53
average age of scaleup directors
People: Age 72% of directors are between 30
and 60 years old.
age of directors at visible scaleups
27%
73%
99%
<1%
Director over 60
Director under 30
“ It’s been a tough year for all and yet
I could not be more encouraged
at the resilience of our scaleup companies
or the ambitious tenacity of our SME
community. Growth capital is available
to the innovator, and on that note we’ve
seen more and more rapid transitions from
Series A to Series B funding rounds. It’s
a very impressive performance all round
that, despite the challenges of 2020, the
number of scale-ups in this country is rising
considerably, including poignantly those
listed on AIM. Indeed, after completing
AIM’s two largest IPOs this year we’re
seeing AIM is proving a haven for high
growth companies with ambitions to list
publicly. I’m also particularly pleased that
the number of female-founded scale-ups
has doubled. At finnCap, through Ambition
Nation, we continue to champion and
support female leaders in business. We also
recognise that environmental, societal and
governance commitments are central to all
scaleup investment decisions as we move
forward and, with the help of our new ESG
handbook and scorecard, we are dedicated
to delivering our clients’ ambitions for a
sustainable future.”

Sam Smith
CEO, finnCap Group Plc
28 People10%
scaleup founders are female
493
female-led visible scaleups
visible scaleups with at
least one feMale c-suite MeMber
visible scaleups with
at least one feMale founder
visible scaleups with
at least one feMale director
86%
9%
5%
All female founders
All male founders
Mixed founding team
39%
61%
No female directors
At least one
female director
52%
48%
No female c-suite
members
At least one
female c-suite member
People: Gender Female representation at the C-suite
level and in directorships is improving, although founders
remain predominantly male.
29 People People: Nationalities The clear majority of scaleup
directors are from the UK. The most common origin nations
among directors are the United States and Ireland.
22,090
number of directors from the UK
3,205
number of directors from outside the UK
scaleup directors by nationality
nuMber of scaleup directors by continent
(excluding the uK)
nuMber of scaleup directors by country
(excluding the uK)
Europe (excluding UK)
North America
Asia
Oceania
Africa
South America
1,793
779
281
162
72
18
678
658
241
181
150
127
98
90
64
59
United States
Ireland
France
Germany
Italy
Australia
Netherlands
Canada
Spain
South Africa
30 People People: Employee distribution Over 50% of scaleups
employee more than 100 people. Almost 2 million people
are employed by scaleups across the UK.
scaleup population by nuMber of eMployees
<5
employees
5-9
employees
10-24
employees
25-49
employees
50-99
employees
100-249
employees
250-499
employees
500-999
employees
>1000
employees
23%
11%
31%
13%
2%
7%
2%
6%
5%
31 Scaleups
32 Advisors Advisors. BDO maintained its lead as top advisor this
year, while Grant Thornton has moved into second place,
followed closely by PwC.
248
198
174
154
153
103
97
74
60
49
47
42
42
42
40
BDO
Grant Thornton UK
PwC
RSM UK
KPMG
Deloitte
Mazars
Ernst & Young
Baldwins Audit Services
Saffery Champness
Nexia Smith & Williamson
PKF Francis Clark
MHA Macintyre Hudson
Crowe UK
Moore Kingston Smith
top advisors to scaleups
33 GeographyheatMap of regions by nuMber of scaleups
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
North West
10%
Wales
3%
N.Ireland
3%
West Midlands
7%
South West
7%
Scotland
6%
Yorkshire and
Humberside
7%
East Midlands
6%
North East
3%
East of England
9%
London
25%
South East
14%
0
25%
8
6
Regions mapped. Although London is home to the largest
proportion of scaleups (25%), it is less dominant here
than among all high-growth companies, where 33% of all
companies reside in the capital.
34 Geographytop regions by nuMber of scaleups
Regions ranked. While London and the South East remain
the top two regions for scaleups, the West Midlands has
now overtaken Yorkshire and the Humber, and Wales has
jumped above Northern Ireland.
1,842
1,057
729
701
554
541
507
443
437
229
224
208
London
South East
North West
East of England
Yorkshire and The Humber
West Midlands
South West
East Midlands
Scotland
North East
Wales
Northern Ireland
35 Geographytop local authorities by nuMber of scaleups
Local authorities mapped. The top three local
authorities for density of scaleups are in London, with
Westminster having the largest population of them all
(371 scaleups).
4
7
8
3
300+
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1
2
3
5
6
9
10
12
36 Geographytop local authorities by nuMber of scaleups
Local authorities ranked. Leeds, Birmingham and
Manchester remain the top locations for scaleups outside
London.
Leeds
371
303
174
124
103
101
97
87
77
72
70
67
66
64
64
57
56
50
50
48
Westminster
City of London
Camden
Southwark
Islington
Birmingham
Manchester
Tower Hamlets
Hackney
Bristol
Hammersmith and Fulham
Cheshire East
Glasgow City
City of Edinburgh
Wycombe
South Cambridgeshire
Trafford
Sheffield
Cardiff
1
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
37 GeographyheatMap of leps by nuMber of scaleups (excluding london)
Local Enterprise Partnerships mapped. Enterprise M3
and Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough have
overtaken the South East Midlands and the North East for
fourth and fifth most populated LEP.
35
300+
Number of visible scaleups
South East
354
1
Enterprise M3
201
4
Greater
Manchester
300
3
Greater
Cambridge
and Greater
Peterborough
200
5
Leeds
City Region
341
2
2
3
4
5
1
3 Geography Local Enterprise Partnerships ranked. Leeds City Region
has jumped above Greater Manchester, while Coast to
Capital has climbed from 9th place to 6th place.
top leps outside london by nuMber of scaleups
354
341
300
201
192
186
183
181
170
South East
Leeds City Region
Greater Manchester
Enterprise M3
Greater Birmingham and Solihull
Coast to Capital
South East Midlands
Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
North East
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough
200
39 Sectorstop-level sectors by nuMber of scaleups
Sectors. This year, Technology widened its lead on Retail
as the fourth most populated top-level sector.
2,899
2,331
1,206
1,124
803
687
673
580
446
230
226
187
133
116
111
Business and Professional Services
Industrials
Built environment and infrastructure
Technology/IP-based businesses
Retail
Supply chain
Leisure and Entertainment
Tradespeople
Personal services
Media
Energy
Transportation operators
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Telecommunications services
Craft industries
40 Sectorstop business & professional services sectors by nuMber of scaleups
Top business and professional services sectors. Civil
engineering services continues to be the most populated
business and professional services sector.
338
325
292
209
207
189
184
168
155
131
130
130
123
123
109
Recruitment agencies and personnel supply services
Business banking and financial services
Civil engineering services
Waste management services
Consumer banking and financial services
IT consultancy services
Marketing services
Analytics, insight, tools
Security services (physical and virtual)
IT support services
Advertising and branding services
Insurance services
Design services
Management consultancy services
Outsourcing and shared services
41 Sectorstop industrial sectors by nuMber of scaleups
Top industrial sectors. The Automotive sector has seen
an increase in the number of scaleups, leading to a tie for
third place with the Machinery sector. All sectors show an
increase in the number of scaleups
622
398
236
236
229
128
116
109
105
92
91
87
69
68
67
Other manufacturing and engineering
Food and drink processors (including quality control)
Machinery
Automotive
Building materials
Packaging and printing
Household goods
Clothing (including footwear and accessories)
Furniture
Other consumer goods
Metals
Electrical components
Steel
Healthcare products
Aerospace
42 Sectorstop built environMent & infrastructure sectors by nuMber of scaleups
Top built environment & infrastructure sectors.
62% of Built environment scaleups operate within
the Property/land development and construction
industries.
920
314
161
79
Property/land development and construction
Other built environment and infrastructure
Property/land management
Property/land ownership and trading
“ This year saw Technology widen its new lead on Retail as the fourth-most represented
top-level sector by number of visible scaleups (p. 39). SaaS businesses accounted for just
under 25% of all the technology scaleups with internet platforms and other soft ware businesses
also dominant (p. 43). As more technology companies reach sizes where their revenues become
visible, it will be interesting to see whether this sector can displace the established top three
and come to dominate the UK’s scaleup population. Policymakers and investors need to start
considering what ramifi cations the rise of technology scaleups will have for the UK economy.”
Daniel Robinson
Research and Consultancy Associate, Beauhurst
43 Sectorstop technology and ip-based sectors by nuMber of scaleups
Top technology sectors. The top sector for Technology
scaleups is Sofware-as-a-service (SaaS), followed by
Internet platforms by a considerable margin.
274
175
154
109
75
74
72
66
57
55
41
37
36
33
30
Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
Internet platform
Other software
Mobile apps
Other CleanTech
Other technology/IP-based businesses
Pharmaceuticals
Clean energy generation
Other hardware
Research tools/reagents
Desktop software
Internet and networking hardware
Energy reduction technology
Medical devices
Mobile and wireless hardware
44 Scaleupstop scaleups in 2019 by turnover & eMployMent in top sectors
2 sisters food group
sector
Food and drink
processors
turnover
£2.74bn
2 sisters food group
sector
Food and drink
processors
employees
20,749
marshall group
sector
Manufacturing and
engineering services
turnover
£2.48bn
places for people
sector
Property/land
ownership and trading
employees
6,256
uk fuels limited
sector
Fleet management and
logistics soft ware
turnover
£1.55bn
giant group
sector
Recruitment soft ware
employees
2,513
sovereign global
sector
Business training
services
turnover
£6.56bn
the staffing group
sector
Recruitment agencies
employees
18,087
Largest scaleups by sector.
45 AIM AIM Scaleups. Despite a decrease in the overall number
of companies listed on AIM, the number of scaleups has
increased from last year.
250
unique AIM scaleups
825
unique companies
listed on AIM
224
foreign operating and
financial vehicles excluded
645
companies incorporated
in the UK
474
unique scaleup
companies
Companies require at
least four years of annual
accounts with sales or
number of employees to
determine scaling status.
AIM typically attracts smaller
companies than the main
London Stock Exchange. 825
companies were listed on it
at the time of analysis.
Companies operating
outside the UK and
investment vehicles were
excluded.
Companies from outside
the UK can list on AIM if they
meet the requirements. This
analysis only looks at UK-
incorporated companies.
“ This year it is more important than ever to recognise the contribution that scaling
companies make to the UK economy as highlighted by the findings contained in the
2020 ScaleUp Index. As AIM celebrates its 25th anniversary, the data contained in the Index
reinforces the important role that AIM plays in providing equity finance to ambitious companies.
Already this year over £4.2bn has been raised on AIM by companies conducting IPOs and further
issues and London Stock Exchange remains committed to ensuring that these companies have
long term access to the equity capital and support they need to grow their businesses.”

Marcus Stuttard
Head of AIM & UK Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange
46 AIM4
4
4
3
4
4
4
5
5
6
8
14
Business and professional services for businesses
Other software
Business banking and financial services
Analytics, insight, tools
Software-as-as-service (SAAS)
Online games publishing
Automotive
Mobile apps
Other manufacturing and engineering
IT consultancy services
Property/land development and construction
Recruitment agencies and personnel supply services
top sectors by nuMber of aiM scaleups
Companies delivering services for other businesses are
the most common among AIM scaleups. Companies
developing soft ware technology also occur frequently.
47 AIMnuMber of aiM scaleups Mapped by region
London and the South East account for almost half of AIM
scaleups. The North West and Yorkshire and The Humber
are the third most populated, home to 9% each.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
North West
9%
Wales
3%
N.Ireland
1%
West Midlands
6%
South West
6%
Scotland
2%
Yorkshire and
Humberside
9%
East Midlands
6%
North East
2%
East of England
8%
London
30%
South East
18%
0
29%
8
6
1
48 AIMnuMber of aiM scaleups and private scaleups by region
2%
1%
2%
3%
6%
6%
6%
8%
9%
9%
18%
30%
London
South East
North West
Yorkshire and The Humber
East of England
West Midlands
East Midlands
South West
Scotland
Wales
North East
Northern Ireland
3%
3%
3%
6%
7%
6%
7%
9%
7%
10%
14%
25%
AIM
companies
Private
companies
Scaleups listed on AIM are more likely to be found
in London and the South East than the wider
scaleup population.
49 AIMAnnual turnover
£500M +
£100m to £500m
£50m to £100m
£25m to £50m
£10m to £25m
Less than £10m
31%
12%
16%
17%
20%
5%
20%
34%
24%
13%
8%
1%
AIM scaleups
Private scaleups
turnover siZe of aiM scaleups coMpared with private scaleups (2019)
AIM scaleups have a wider spread of turnover than
private scaleups, with more companies bringing in more
than £500m or less than £10m.
50 AIMlatest eMployee counts of aiM scaleups coMpared with private scaleups (2019)
AIM scaleups tend to have more employees than private
scaleups. Companies with 250 or more employees make
up 47% of AIM scaleups, and 23% of private scaleups.
17%
15%
15%
21%
9%
9%
10%
3%
1%
Latest employee headcount
<5 employees
5-10
10-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250-499
500-999
1000+
5%
6%
12%
33%
24%
11%
6%
1%
2%
AIM scaleups
Private scaleups
51 Directory Scaleup directory.
52 Directory
53 Directory
54 Directory
55 Directory
56 Directory
57 Directory
58 Directory
59 Directory
60 Directory
61 Directory
62 Directory
63 Directory
64 Directory
65 Directory
66 Directory
67 Directory
68 Directory
69 Directory
70 Directory
71 Directory
72 Directory
73 Directory
74 Directory
75 Directory
76 Directory
77 Directory
78 Directory
79 Directory
80 Directory
81 Directory
82 Directory
83 Directory
84 Directory
85 Directory
86 Directory
87 Directory
88 Directory
89 Directory
90 Directory
91 Directory
92 Directory
93 Directory
94 Directory