By: Russ Shaw, Chief Financial Officer, genedrive plc
The Chancellor’s announcement last month of a new £150 million British Business Bank scale-up fund for the North is encouraging for businesses looking to grow and compete in the UK and internationally. It tells growing companies, and the people who invest in them, that the Government wants to keep high-potential businesses rooted in the regions where they started, rather than losing them to acquisition or relocation before they reach the point of real growth.
Capital is essential, particularly as businesses move from early development into commercial-scale operations, investing in manufacturing, recruiting experienced people and expanding into international markets. In sectors such as life sciences, where development and regulatory timelines can be long, that investment often needs to be sustained over a number of years.
But as a CFO having worked with businesses at different stages of growth, I know that raising capital is only one part of the equation. Managing cash flow, maintaining financial discipline and making the right investment decisions are critical to building a sustainable growth trajectory. Ultimately, how capital is deployed matters as much as securing it in the first place.
That also means securing customers willing to commit and procurement routes that give a business its first real foothold. For growing companies, turning innovation into predictable revenues is what gives management teams and investors the confidence to commit to longer-term plans. Having supported businesses through international expansion, I’ve seen how important a strong domestic market can be in building the commercial foundations for growth overseas.
This is where the regional dimensions can make the biggest impact.
Businesses that scale successfully tend to do so where they already have roots, close to the universities, suppliers and specialist employees they have spent years working alongside. Those relationships become more valuable as a company grows. At genedrive, we have seen this first-hand in Manchester where our businesses has developed through deep, long-standing ties to the NHS and academic partners in the region, and where that experience sits alongside a much wider concentration of scientific and industrial capability across the North.
Backing more companies to scale from that kind of regional base, rather than requiring them to move south or overseas to grow, would do more than support individual businesses. It would help retain skills and jobs in the North, strengthen UK supply chains, and allow expertise built in one business to benefit others nearby. The challenge now is to ensure that investment is matched by the commercial opportunities and long-term confidence businesses need to turn growth plans into sustainable revenues. Done well, it should build companies with the depth to compete internationally while remaining firmly rooted at home, generating lasting value for the regions themselves and for the wider UK economy.
