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Growing your business

Use our selection of guides, links, books and articles to find more information on growing your business.
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Latest on business growth

Read our latest features and articles on growing your business.
ICAEW Member insights: November 2023
  • Article
  • 28 Nov 2023
Ongoing economic and political uncertainty dominate discussions, but businesses remain resilient and recognise that opportunities in technology, green energy and improving the customer experience are there for the taking.
Autumn Statement 2023 bar chart
Chart of the week: Autumn Statement 2023
  • Article
  • 23 Nov 2023
Our chart this week illustrates how Chancellor Jeremy Hunt used almost all of the available upside from inflation and fiscal drag to fund his tax measures and a series of business growth initiatives.
Autumn Statement: short-term gain, medium-term loss
  • Article
  • 22 Nov 2023
The Autumn Statement included several measures that are welcome news for businesses, but the medium-term outlook looks less positive.
ICAEW calls for action to boost UK’s productivity and resilience
  • Article
  • 06 Nov 2023
In a letter to the Chancellor, ICAEW recommends the introduction of incentives to support sustainable business growth and long-term funding streams for local councils, as well as tax simplification and action to improve HMRC service standards.
Is record pay growth a good sign for businesses?
  • Article
  • 12 Sep 2023
As the latest Office for National Statistics figures reveal a climb in wage growth, especially in the finance and business services sector, ICAEW experts explain what this means for business.
ICAEW recommendations to address SME finance woes
  • Article
  • 08 Sep 2023
In its response to the Treasury Committee's call for evidence, ICAEW laments the availability of finance for small business, and sees a role for government in boosting lending to SMEs, following concerns over a deepening access to finance crisis.
Respect for economic institutions key to growth, say MPs
  • Article
  • 24 Jul 2023
Shadow ministers highlight UK’s current growth-policy shortfalls and set out Labour’s plans for restoring nation’s economic fortunes, at ICAEW-hosted Labour Business Network event.
Spring Budget: is it pro business growth?
  • Article
  • 30 May 2023
The Budget contained tax announcements designed to support business growth. We assess how these measures were received and their drawbacks.
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Advice and reports

ICAEW BAS
ICAEW’s Business Advice Service puts small and medium business owners in touch with both ICAEW members or regulated ICAEW member firms who can provide a free initial consultation, without obligation, to discuss any business issues the owners are facing.
Exclusive Special report - Growing your business
This report is primarily aimed at smaller businesses seeking to grow and develop and to achieve their full potential through practical guidance and advice.
More reports

Webinars

Factory
How a board should maintain the right culture during periods of fast growth
  • Podcast
  • 21 Nov 2022
  • ICAEW Insights
In the first of two Insights In Focus special episodes an experienced panel discuss a dilemma facing a fictional software company.
Top tips on growing a business
  • Webinar
  • 21 Sep 2022
Hear from our speakers about the different financing options available as you grow, what investors look for in a business and what should be included in your pitch deck. A ICAEW Small and Micro Business Community webinar.
How to network your way to success
  • Webinar
  • 13 May 2020
  • Paul Ryan
Key insights and techniques to aid those who want to thrive and grow through the simple art of talking to people.
More webinars

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Essential business finance: a complete guide to starting, expanding and selling your business
  • eBook
  • 2009
  • Paul Barrow
  • Kogan Page
An introduction to finance aimed at the average business manager.
Exclusive Good small business guide: how to start and grow your own business
  • eBook
  • 2006
  • Meredith Belbin
  • Bloomsbury
A practical guide for anyone interested in starting a business.
Exclusive Grow by focusing on what matters: competitive strategy in 3 circles
  • eBook
  • 2011
  • James H. Davis, Joel E. Urbany
  • Business Expert Press
Guide to business growth from a US perspective.
Exclusive Growing business handbook: inspiration and advice from successful entrepreneurs and fast growing UK companies, The
  • eBook
  • 2009
  • Adam Jolly
  • Kogan Page
A guide to maximising growth and controlling risk.
Exclusive Winning with partners: a practical guide to international expansion for SMEs
  • eBook
  • 2013
  • David Sellings, Viveka Odlen Persson
  • Me4U
Aimed at managers of small-to-medium size companies (SMEs) interested in establishing a partner-based export business.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Companies that are built for growth, even in uncertain times
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Adam Job, Martin Reeves
The article discusses Fortune International's Future 50 ranking, which assesses the long-term revenue growth prospects of over 1,700 of the world's largest public companies. The ranking is based on a measure called vitality, which considers factors such as a company's growth potential, financial and nonfinancial metrics, and long-term strategic orientation. The article states that the tech sector dominates the ranking - and also highlights the higher representation of female executives and board members in Future 50 companies compared to other companies.
Exclusive New research finds that industries have different growth rates
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2023
Many business valuation analysts use the same long-term real GDP growth plus expected inflation in their terminal values for all industries. But that is incorrect, says Roger Grabowski (Kroll), based on new research he is doing with Dr. Ashok Abbott (West Virginia University). Their findings also point to it often being preferable to use the three-stage discounted cash flow (DCF) model, not the typical two-stage model.
Exclusive Investing in growth through uncertainty
  • Article
  • 01 Jul 2023
  • Ranjay Gulati
When faced with industry disruptions or recessions, many companies instinctively focus on cutting costs to maintain profitability. But that is short-sighted, says Ranjay Gulati, Professor at Harvard Business School. Instead companies should make smart reductions in certain areas while also investing in new capabilities that allow them to emerge stronger. He provides examples of this from Alaska Airlines, financial services firm Edward Jones, digital media company Firefly and dining chain Panera Bread.
Exclusive When best to scale up
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2023
  • Hamdi Ulukaya
A new study sheds light on the debate into how fast a high-growth company should scale up. From examining job postings from 38,000 start-ups, the researchers found those start-ups that had scaled up in the first year were 20-40% more likely than others to have failed. They also found that using A/B testing software significantly raised a start-up's odds of success.
Exclusive Scale up smarter
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2023
  • Dave Harutian
A company's execution strategy should adapt to the circumstances. Here's how to grow your business today with an eye toward tomorrow.
Exclusive The key to a successful business scale-up
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2023
  • Martin Kupp, Jeffrey F.Rayport, Davide Sola
How to master the “extrapolation” stage, when business start-ups begin to focus on profitability, not just growth. The authors share their advice, based on their experience teaching business school courses on scaling up enterprises and their analysis of dozens of rapidly growing start-ups.
Read more

Find more articles

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on business growth. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Growing by numbers: how to scale up your small business with confidence
  • Library book
  • 2020
  • Della Hudson
  • SRA Books
This authoritative, motivating and highly practical guide will take you step-by-step through everything you need to think about, know and do to get your business into the best possible shape for growth.
Financial management for technology start-ups: a handbook for growth
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • A.Bhimani
  • Kogan Page
A book to help you with the specific know-how required to successfully manage costs, track profit opportunities and monetize your tech start-up.
Advising new businesses: a practical guide
  • Library book
  • 2003
  • A.Gutterman
  • Sweet & Maxwell
A book on starting and building successful new businesses, with particular emphasis on issues that arise with firms that are formed to exploit new technologies. Contains a sample ‘Manufacturing License and Product Purchase Agreement’.

External resources - Information and guidance

British Library Business & IP Centre
  • British Library
The British Library's Business and Intellectual Property (IP) Centre incorporates services and information aimed at entrepreneurs and small business owners, including expert advisers to talk through your ideas and a wide range of essential information to help you research your market and start your own business.
Business Growth Fund
  • BGF
BGF is an investment partner for growing companies in every sector of the economy, providing tools businesses need to grow, from funding to expertise.
Growing your business
  • GOV.UK
This guide can help you think about how to grow your business. It covers getting extra funding, increasing sales to existing customers, attracting new customers, improving your products and services, developing new products and services, hiring and training staff and working with a mentor.
Growth Business UK
  • Bonhill Group plc
Practical tips and resources for established businesses undergoing rapid expansion.
Help to Grow
  • GOV.UK
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT)'s new Help to Grow website aims to support the UK’s 5.5 million businesses in upskilling, business growth, and boosting profits. It provides guidance and support to take businesses from start-ups, to scaling-up and then exporting their goods and services globally. The website is targeted at helping businesses of all sizes but especially SMEs.
Startups.
  • Startups.
Online resource for those starting or running a small business. The website includes start-up guides for over 50 different business sectors, business start-up news, success stories and advice on finding finance and recruiting and managing staff.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Small business organisations

British Chambers of Commerce
  • British Chambers of Commerce
The website of the network of Chambers of Commerce across the UK provides information on their activities and a tool to find your local Chamber of Commerce.
European Commission: Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
  • European Commission
Portal for EC information and resources for SMEs, with business-related links and guides to EU legislation and financing programmes.
Family Business UK
  • Family Business UK
A growing body of family businesses working to support the UK family-owned business sector (formerly named the Institute for Family Business, IFB). The organisation will work to promote the role of the family business model in the UK economy, and also support and advise family businesses to invest, grow and sustain for the long-term.
Family Business United
  • Family Business United
Resources and useful features for family-run businesses, including upcoming events for the sector and The Family Business Top 100, a list showcasing some of the best family businesses across the UK.
Federation of Small Businesses
  • Federation of Small Businesses
The FSB publish the quarterly Voice of Small Business Index which provides a picture of the UK economy from the point of view of the small business owner. The index looks at employment, revenues and the confidence of small firms and provides information on regional businesses with a breakdown by sector across the UK.
Forum of private business
  • Forum of Private Business
Not-for-profit membership organisation which provides guidance and support for SMEs and aims to 'represent small businesses views and be their voice in government'.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Reports

Equitable equity: Increasing and diversifying finance for high-growth SMEs in the UK's regions
  • 2017
  • Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)
High-growth businesses often struggle to access finance - particularly from investors or crowdfunding. This report investigates how the UK can open up access to all sources of finance for successful SMEs across the country.
The ambitious entrepreneur: Tackling your barriers to growth
  • 2021
  • BDO
A study exploring the various barriers to growth that ambitious businesses in the UK face as they look to build, grow and scale their business. An accompanying hub of articles and resources to support high growth businesses is available.
Understanding the characteristics of high growth companies using non-traditional data sources
  • 2019
  • Data Science Campus
Report exploring how non-traditional data sources and data science methods can be combined with more conventional business data, to help understand the characteristics and behaviours of high growth companies. A follow-up update explores whether firms engaging in certain management practices were more likely to be classed as high-growth.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Business guides

Creating a valuable business
  • Atom Content Marketing
A LawDonut guide to making strategic decisions that can help create and maintain a valuable business. Running a business often involves reacting to circumstances, making minor decisions that have a limited, short-term impact. In contrast, creating a valuable business is about taking strategic decisions that have a lasting effect.
Decide if running a business is for you
  • Atom Content Marketing
A guide to understanding the implications of running a business. Making sure you have the right skills, finance and practical support reduces the financial stress and the pressure of having to make all the decisions yourself.
Get help setting up and running a business
  • Atom Content Marketing
There is a huge range of help available to help you deal with the challenges of starting your own business and make the most of your opportunities. This StartupDonut guide covers identifying the support you want, using business support organisations, finding financing and financial support, getting the right advisers, building your network and finding practical support.
Increasing productivity
  • Atom Content Marketing
Building long-term profitability allows you to grow your business and your own personal rewards from it. Creating and increasing profitability depends on doing many little things better than the competition.
Strategic acquisitions
  • Atom Content Marketing
An acquisition could increase the size and profitability of your business overnight. But an acquisition can also bring problems, draining financial and management resources from your original business.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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Winding road
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