BUSINESS

Small Scottish businesses lag behind rest of UK

The view across Glasgow South Side from Queen’s Park. Some 7.4 per cent of Scottish companies recorded an improvement in productivity
The view across Glasgow South Side from Queen’s Park. Some 7.4 per cent of Scottish companies recorded an improvement in productivity
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Scottish start-ups and small businesses are growing more slowly than their peers in many other parts of the UK, according to research.

The study suggests that the number of start-ups being formed in Scotland and the proportion of those going on to achieve more than £1 million of annual sales is lower than the UK average.

More established businesses also were slower than average to increase their revenue beyond the £3 million mark.

The Enterprise Research Centre, led by academics from the University of Warwick and Aston University in Birmingham, looked at a range of metrics to produce its UK local growth dashboard. Scotland had a rate of 33 start-ups per 10,000 people, behind 50 companies for the UK as a whole. London was the