UK startups are growing by nearly a third every year
The 500 most successful startups created in the UK over the past six years have grown at an annual rate of 30 per cent a year, according to new research.
Those that went on to IPO grew at an even faster rate of 43 per cent, the analysis by SyndicateRoom and Beauhurst reveals.
But it was fintech firms that were found to have sped ahead, with a compound annual growth rate calculated at 63 per cent, and one of the most high profile – Transferwise – was found to be growing at a faster rate than any other startup at 183 per cent each year.
At the other end of the spectrum, education technology, or edtech, startups were found to be the worst performers with growth of six per cent, on average.
"This cohort was worth just shy of £1.6bn in 2011, grew to £8bn in 2016 and now, just one year later, I’m delighted it is valued at over £10bn," said chief executive and co-founder of SyndicateRoom Gonçalo de Vasconcelos,
“What’s more, the cohort has returned over £3.7bn to shareholders, demonstrating the long-term profitability of early-stage investing."
Some 14 per cent of the startups exited via an IPO or M&A – 73 in total – while the same number failed, 31 of them in 2017 alone, highlighting the risk of early stage investing.