'Think BIG': Small-and-medium businesses want more support to help the Chancellor deliver her growth mission, says new report

• Following the Chancellor's Mansion House speech to financial services, new proposals set out ways to grow the economy from the middle-out and the bottom-up
  
  

Small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) stand ready to deliver on the Chancellor's urgent quest for growth, but only if they receive more support through the Government's imminent Small Business Strategy. That is the message sent to Westminster by dozens of smaller businesses in a new report published jointly by two Labour-backing think tanks - Renaissance and Progressive Britain.

‘Levelling the Playing Field' expresses the views of more than 100 SMBs, investors, and other business experts put forward at a series of events across England and Wales. The clear message to Government: Businesses of all sizes across the country are eager to grow, innovate, and lead - but they need support, certainty, and targeted investment to do so.

At a time when the Chancellor is seeking ways to generate more income into the Treasury, ‘Levelling the Playing Field' urges her to ‘think BIG', and launch a Business, Innovation and Growth Unit (BIG) to help SMBs achieve their potential in scaling up and delivering good, meaningful, well-paid jobs in towns and cities across Britain.

This ‘BIG' national hub within government would build on the Government's proposed Business Growth Service. It would be staffed by experienced business leaders, coordinate support for SMBs across the UK, and provide strategic leadership on procurement, finance, and industrial support. It would ensure that SMBs are central to national economic planning – not treated as an afterthought. BIG would:

1. Co-create regional innovation clusters, starting by developing a North-East Innovation Corridor by leveraging £350m of local R&D and investment funding; then apply lessons nationwide.
2. Reform access to finance, working with the Treasury on tax incentives, developing easy-to-access debt finance, and launching a national programme to help SMBs demystify the funding landscape.
3. Unlock procurement opportunities for SMBs to ensure public contracts deliver local value, by reforming ESG, developing regional procurement frameworks aligned with sectoral strengths, and by engaging SMB owners in reviewing major tenders.
4. Make it easier to run a business in the UK by (a) creating a unified portal for all SMB interactions with Companies House, HMRC, and ICO, and (b) creating a complaints team to work with the Energy Ombudsman and Financial Ombudsman to ensure SMBs receive appropriate remedies for unfair terms or contract breaches by larger firms, and (c) support regulators to deliver a more pro-growth, pro-enterprise culture.

Writing the foreword for the report, Small Business Minister Gareth Thomas MP said that he was “pleased to see this report championing the voice of SMBs” and that “It is heartening to see MPs, Mayors, and activists within the Labour movement working closely with business communities” on proposals that “align closely with policies of this government.”

This report – presented to the Small Business Minister in June – captures insights from regional roundtables held in Tyneside, South Wales, North Yorkshire, and the West Midlands, alongside expert discussions in London, Cambridge, and Oxford. Political insight and support came from Metro Mayors Kim McGuinness, Richard Parker, and David Skaith, and MPs Alan Campbell, Sarah Edwards, Stephen Kinnock, Emma Foody and Luke Charters.

Sarah Edwards, Member of Parliament for Tamworth and a member of the Business and Trade Select Committee, said:

“It's vital that the voices of small and medium-sized businesses are heard at the heart of government. Having listened to businesses in my own constituency, I know they are eager to grow and innovate. I am delighted to have convened businesses in Tamworth to contribute to this brilliant report 'Levelling the Playing Field' which is crucial in highlighting their needs for support and certainty, and I will continue to work to ensure our local businesses receive the investment and attention they deserve."

Joe Jervis, Director of Renaissance and co-author of the report said:

“Our report calls on the Government to ‘Think BIG' when it comes to realising the potential of small-and-medium businesses to help deliver the much-needed growth our country needs. We welcome the Minister's engagement and look forward to supporting his Small Business Strategy, which is a prime opportunity to start growing the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.”

Hugh Goulbourne, co-author of ‘Levelling the Playing Field' and is a Director at CO2Sense CIC said:

"It's been a privilege to collaborate with Renaissance and Progressive Britain, channelling the voices of small business leaders directly to the Government.

"My particular passion lies in community energy enterprises, where I see first-hand the urgent need for simpler, more affordable finance. I eagerly anticipate working with the government on the upcoming Small Business Strategy. We will keep championing transformative ideas like a Business, Innovation and Growth Unit to build a brighter future for all.

Charlie Jeffery, Vice Chancellor of the University of York, said:

"The University of York has been pleased to support the 'Levelling the Playing Field' report, which underscores the immense potential within British research and innovation. We believe that by fostering a robust environment for scale-up in key innovation sectors, we can translate ground-breaking research into tangible economic growth and high-quality jobs across the UK."

Selected quotes from small-and-medium businesses represented:

- B.I.G UNIT / ONE-STOP SHOP: A group of small business owners from different sectors in Tamworth agreed: “We need a one stop portal for grant funding opportunities, with a template application form to reduce complexity and the time taken to apply. This would also ensure that the grant intermediaries/consultants need to add real value to the process, as opposed to simply being better at navigating the complexity of the system.”

- ENERGY COSTS: A fence-coating business that employees nearly 100 people in Dewsbury told us that they were charged for five times the amount of energy that they used due to a contract which was ‘sold' to them by a broker. “Losing this money means that we cannot hire more people to grow the business or invest in solar panels, so how does this align with the government's commitment to growth and net-zero?” asked the Managing Director.

- ACCESS TO FINANCE:

• A finance consultant in the North-East said: "Whether in the start-up or scale-up phase, smaller businesses face significant obstacles in securing affordable and quick short-term finance, typically ranging from £25k to £500k."
• “I'm considering moving business to the USA because its mush easier to access investors and get regulatory approvals”, said the boss of a fast-growing health technology business in the North-East.
• In Port Talbot, a managing director lamented the disappearance of the "friendly local bank manager" – a vital lifeline for small firms seeking guidance and loans. “Financing is essential for hiring new staff, expanding facilities, or undertaking new projects. It can also serve as a bridge for businesses awaiting grant reimbursements, which are often paid in arrears,” he said.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• The roundtables took between November 2024 and April 2025, while further experts contributed through additional conversations, interviews and written evidence – including through essays for a previous publication: No Community Left Behind.
• In total more than 100 experts contributed to this project, the majority representing individuals SMBs while others represented business groups, incubators and accelerators. We also spoke to venture capitalists and tax experts.
• The project was generously supported by CO2Sense CIC, philanthropist Ewan Kirk, Sage UK, the University of York and Aviva.