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Accelerating success for small businesses

The recent release of the New Startup Index, published by Beauhurst and supported by NatWest, shows a record number of companies in the UK. We talk to Darren Pirie, Head of the NatWest Accelerator Programme, on the importance of empowering UK entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to the next level. 

Succeeding with startups

Having worked on the NatWest Accelerator Programme for the past nine years, Darren Pirie knows the value that comes from supporting businesses during their crucial early stages. ‘With the Accelerator Programme, which we started back in 2015, we saw an opportunity to go further than traditional banking in helping start-ups realise their potential. By being there from the outset – by the side of entrepreneurs – we knew we could make a real difference, helping businesses with real ambition to remove the barriers to growth.’ 

Providing free wrap-around support for UK entrepreneurs, including one-to-one coaching, access to a network of like-minded peers, and use of modern co-working spaces across our nationwide hubs, the Accelerator programme has so far helped nearly 10,000 business to forge their own paths to growth.

‘The support is a real commitment’, says Darren. ‘As one of the biggest banks for business in the UK, we aim to support businesses across all regions of the country’. ‘From the beginning of the programme, we saw the creation of thriving entrepreneurial communities across the UK as central to the sense of belonging that businesses need to succeed. Due to the intensity of that support and the community we create, there are very often lasting bonds made between the Accelerator businesses, our team, and the wider peer network – that’s what sets us apart and makes this programme so special.’

The results of this kind of support speak for themselves. Average business turnover growth over a three-year period of NatWest Accelerator businesses was 49%, that’s 35% higher than our control group of similar businesses. Importantly, survival rates in the difficult early years were also strong, with 90% of businesses who completed the Accelerator programme still trading three years later. Finally, investment – one of the key areas that new businesses target when looking to grow – increased by 70.5% on average over a three-year period for our Accelerator businesses1.

Evolving as businesses evolve

These successes have come against a backdrop of rapidly changing business needs. ‘We’re at the coalface with them day in, day out, in our hubs’, explains Darren, ‘so we get to see how businesses (and the challenges they face) are developing in real time’.

‘The drive towards sustainability, in all its guises, has been palpable recently, but so has the desire for more and more people to start their own businesses’. A sentiment which is evidenced by the New Startup Index (PDF download 908KB) report, with 468,000 new business incorporations in the UK in the first half of 2024.

‘We’ve continued to grow and develop how we best support businesses on our programmes’, continues Darren. ‘This has ranged from opening new locations and sectors, for example our innovative Clean Transport Programme with Warwick University, to broadening support across digital learning and developing even more specialised support for earlier stage businesses with NatWest Business Builder and Digital Boost’. 

‘Our fundamental programme focus now rests on three pillars which is where bank strength and customer need intersect – funding, selling and leading. All of this is underpinned by the strength of the UK-wide Accelerator community we’ve fostered’.

Supporting UK Plc

NatWest Group has created a network of 12 Accelerators across the UK. The support has made a tangible and lasting impact on regional economies and, most importantly, enabled the growth of thousands of businesses.

‘We won’t stop here’, says Darren, ‘we’re aiming to grow our support to ensure greater access for those fledgling businesses who want to benefit from our start-up guidance and belong to our UK-wide community’.

‘We’re a leading partner for British business, so we have an inherent strength in our knowledge and capability to support growing companies. It’s a responsibility we take seriously. Speed to market for businesses is critical, so being able to ‘accelerate’ aspects of the journey is key for success and growth. Not just at a grassroots level for the individual enterprises we help, but collectively for the positive impact this can have overall on UK Plc’.

And despite the successes of the Accelerator programme so far, for Darren, this is just the beginning. ‘The ambition is to create the UK’s largest network of connected founders and help them unlock opportunities for success – NatWest are uniquely placed to do that, and I believe it’s a vital part of driving the UK’s economy growth, now and in the future’.

Download the New Startup Index H1 2024

Download our latest report on new company incorporations (PDF 908KB).

Start up index

1 NatWest Group Accelerator Investment, Turnover and Survival data are provided by NatWest Group based on customer data. These metrics cover businesses that took part in NatWest’s programme in 2020 over the subsequent three years.  This data has not been independently verified by a third party.

The material published on this page is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as providing any specific advice, or used by consumers to make financial decision. Terms and conditions apply to any products or services mentioned.

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