Corporate report

High-growth firms

This report is part of the Microeconomics Unit’s ongoing Growth Programme, supporting the government’s focus on driving economic growth and its modern Industrial Strategy by delivering economic research focused on critical drivers and blockers of economic growth.

• From: Competition and Markets Authority
• Published: 27 August 2026

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High-growth firms

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High-growth firms

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Details

This report builds on the CMA’s literature review investment and competition over the business lifecycle and also contributes to the CMA’s ongoing work on the role of competition policy in supporting UK scale-ups, following our discussion paper on scale-ups and competition policy.

High-growth firms are a small share of UK businesses but make a disproportionate contribution to employment, turnover, innovation and economic growth. Understanding how these firms emerge, grow and sustain success is important for policymakers seeking to support productivity and long-term economic growth.  

This report looks at:

• how different definitions of high-growth firms affect which firms are identified as fast growing

• the characteristics, growth trajectories and persistence of high-growth firms over time 

• how the supply networks, financial relationships and revenue patterns of high-growth firms differ from those of other businesses, using experimental financial transactions data

• whether web-based growth signals can complement traditional approaches to identifying fast-growing businesses

Published 27 August 2026