Chancellor George Osborne Visits Unruly HQ To Launch New Initiative Designed To Nurture High-Growth Businesses In The UK

Unrulies were delighted to welcome George Osborne to our London HQ yesterday to launch a new scheme aimed at encouraging high-growth businesses in the UK to grow even faster.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was joined by Joanna Shields, chief executive of Tech City, Xavier Rolet, chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group and most of the world’s media as they rolled out the ‘Future Fifty’, a “concierge service for the 50 most promising high-growth companies that we want to see listing in London in the years ahead”.

Unruly’s Princelet Street office in Shoreditch – at the heart of Tech City – was chosen as the ideal launch pad for the new initiative after we were listed by Deloitte as one of Europe’s fastest growing companies.

Osborne, citing Unruly has an example, said: “Growth is here. In London, in the UK, amongst our SMEs. We must nurture them. We need to back the insurgent businesses that create the majority of new jobs and innovations in the economy. We’re going to be rolling out the red carpet to the world’s fastest growing companies, and making it as easy as possible to list in the UK.”

The Future Fifty was launched to address the fact that “too many companies leave our shores when they become successful”.

Shields said: “There is a rising tide of successful, high-growth businesses in this country. But if we want to enable them to achieve their true potential, transform the markets in which they operate and generate significant economic benefit, we must do everything we can to help them grow. Too many companies leave our shores when they become successful. The Future Fifty programme will reverse this trend and ensure that the UK remains the best place in Europe to imagine, start and grow a business.”

Unruly co-founder and COO, Sarah Wood, who greeted the Chancellor on his arrival, said the scheme was welcome news.

She added: “There are many companies like us, here in Tech City, across London and across the UK – high-growth, tech and innovation-led companies that represent a new wave of entrepreneurialism. And it’s these lean start-ups, with their ambition, imagination and open access to an incredible talent pool that are driving our digital economy.

“Access to capital is not so open, not so incredible. That’s why it’s great to see the London Stock Exchange and the UK Government taking action. The launch of the high-growth segment represents a significant milestone for UK entrepreneurship. Any support the government can give is helpful.”

Osborne, who also chatted with Unrulies in the staff kitchen, took time of out of his busy schedule to tweet about how much he enjoyed his stay.