LEAD FEATURE FAST FACTS

• IN 2010, there were around 10,000 MSBs with a turnover of £25-£500m per year

• AROUND HALF of MSBs have a turnover of below £50m

• AN ESTIMATED 10-15 per cent of MSBs have a turnover greater than £500m per year

• MSB fi rms account for 30.5 per cent of all UK manufacturing employment

large miners,” says Miller, who recently attended a UK Trade & Investment trade mission to China. “Whatever happens, we intend to have a facility in the country that lets us sell into domestic China.”

THE RIGHT FIT UK Trade & Investment has also helped Sunseeker open offi ces in China and secure foreign national visitor visas for clients in Russia and China to visit the company’s Poole yard to order vessels. It also used an OMIS report into the Chinese leisure and light marine industry, commissioned by the British Marine Federation. While it has enjoyed export success, shipping 98 per cent of its production to 61 countries, with dealerships from Helsinki to Hong Kong and San Diego to Sydney, smaller MSBs can experience more diffi culty fi ghting imbalances in their targeted markets. Bill Brown, chairman and MD of

Angloco, a West Yorkshire fi re engine manufacturer with 71 employees, reports this. While UK local authorities typically spend 25 per cent of their fi re service budgets on equipment and property, buying a combined 200 engines a year, German fi re services rely on volunteer fi refi ghters and spend about 80 per cent of their budgets on capital projects. “Germany buys 2,000 fi re engines a year,” he says. “It sounds incredible to say that the German municipal market is 1,000 per cent the size of the UK one, but that’s actually the case.” Angloco exports to 46 countries and has benefi ted from UK Trade & Investment support in Barbados and Oman. It has set a two-year target to double exports, which make up one- third of the fi rm’s turnover. “We’re still entering new markets,” adds Brown. “In the last 12 months, we have fulfi lled

14 | springboard | www.ukti.gov.uk

• MSB employment is highest in the North West, West Midlands and London

Sources: Aston University; ONS; IDBR; BIS

HIGH-GROWTH CHAMPIONS

CBI director-general John Cridland encourages MSBs to venture overseas Championing the cause of the UK’s ‘forgotten army’ of high-growth, mid-sized companies has been one of my priorities as head of the CBI. The Government, to its credit,

our fi rst orders to Zimbabwe, Laos and Seychelles, but we face challenges because our competitors tend to be based in larger domestic markets.” By contrast, Really Useful Products, based in West Yorkshire, with 200 staff, makes 70 different sizes of plastic storage boxes for sale through mass retailers such as Staples, Offi ce Depot and Walmart and has an easier route to market. “If we want to go into a new market, we just look at the top 10 retail store groups and target them,” says director and owner Mike Pickles. It exports half of its £25m turnover to 18 countries, topped by the US and Germany, but says it will need more assistance to target BRIC nations. “The challenge is that these are very different markets and we must really understood how business is done there,” he adds.

ROOM TO GROW Help is at hand through a new UK Trade & Investment support package, which includes extending the Gateway to Global Growth programme – initially launched for SMEs in 2009 – to MSBs. Focusing on companies with some exporting experience, it offers the expertise of international trade advisers, who help fi rms conduct a global business review and devise a strategic action plan, with follow-up support for 12 months. MSB support also includes advice on partnerships and joint ventures, help in protecting intellectual property overseas and trade missions, starting with a joint CBI MSB-dedicated trip to Turkey (see right). By tackling some of the factors that

are holding British MSBs back in the middle ground, the government is laying the foundations to help them succeed as large companies of the future. ■

has taken up the challenge and assembled a team to focus specifi cally on encouraging and supporting mid- sized businesses (MSBs). To achieve the Chancellor’s ambition of doubling annual UK exports to £1trn by 2020, we need our MSBs to be ambitious about breaking into new markets and offer them the right help to do so. To that end, Lord Green and I

recently led a delegation of nearly 30 MSBs on a trade mission to Turkey; the fi rst one designed for MSBs and the fi rst that UK Trade & Investment has co-hosted with the CBI. I believe we should be ambitious

about what UK businesses of all sizes can achieve on the world stage. But there is much to be done. Changing demographics in high-

growth markets, particularly a growing middle class, mean now is the time to build on our comparative advantage – in sectors such as construction, communications, electrical goods, optical and high-tech goods, and fi nancial services. Our most innovative MSBs need

support to access fi nance and develop the capabilities they need to grow. Get this right, and I believe we can make real strides towards rebalancing our economy and delivering sustainable and sustained economic growth. As part of our commitment to

MSBs, the CBI will be rolling out a series of ‘M-clubs’ across 11 UK regions. These will provide fi rms with a chance to share their experiences, discuss best practice, and hear from business experts. The trade mission to Turkey was

just the start of what promises to be a long and rewarding journey.