Call for more support for ‘forgotten army’ of businesses

The business advisory firm, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, is behind a report which found that the UK’s medium-sized firms have outperformed the market over the last five years, showing growth of 5.4 per cent and contributing £270bn to the economy in 2012.

“Yorkshire’s forgotten army of medium-sized businesses, especially our burgeoning manufacturing sector, is crucial to the continued recovery of the UK economy,” said Will Oxley, senior practice leader for Grant Thornton in Leeds.

According to the research, while mid-sized businesses, which typically employ between 50 and 499 people, grew 5.4 per cent between 2007 and 2012, smaller companies recorded 0.7 per cent growth and large companies grew by 2.4 per cent.

It is estimated that around 124,000 additional jobs were created by mid-sized businesses in the UK in 2012 and Grant Thornton’s recent poll suggests that 81 per cent of these businesses plan to grow their workforce over the next 12 months.

“There has tended to be a focus on small entrepreneurs and larger companies with businesses in the middle range being overlooked,” said Mr Oxley.

“There are currently 34,100 mid-sized firms in the UK and their contribution to the economy is disproportionately high; they are the hidden success story of our economy.

“A large share of mid-sized firms are found in the manufacturing sector, making them of particular importance in Yorkshire.

“They are innovative, highly productive and dynamic organisations, focussed on improving their own performance in every way, and their export growth is faster than any other category of business.”

Mr Oxley added: “More needs to be done not only to remove barriers to their success, such as excessive regulation, but also to support them and enable them to deliver further growth and jobs.

“It is the dynamism of these mid-market organisations who we work with on a daily basis that is helping to re-balance the economy in the region and beyond.”