Ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) are a significant yet under-recognised part of the UK economy. This impact report focuses on EMBs not as a niche issue, but as a way of understanding how entrepreneurial potential is created, constrained, or enabled within the UK’s wider business environment. The Time to Change: A Blueprint for Advancing the UK’s Ethnic… Read more
“Failure to plan is planning to fail” is the aphorism which might sum up conventional views of business planning. The concept of the professionally-managed firm highlights a standard approach to running a business; however, I know of a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) student who took a £4m turnover business to over £100m in 12 years… without having a plan. In… Read more
The Innovation State of the Nation Survey (ISNS) provides an annual overview of innovation activity across a representative sample of UK businesses. This report focuses on the 2025 survey, conducted in early 2025 and covering 2,020 firms. Results are compared with those from the 2023 and 2024 surveys to highlight short-term trends in innovation levels,… Read more
New ERC research commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales (EIW) shows that Wales is emerging as a UK leader in high-value intangible investments. Commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales, this latest report reveals that Welsh firms anticipate quick and predictable investment returns – a key factor that appeals to investors.
Call for proposals 2026 The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has made available £25,000 to fund five secondary analyses of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) is administering this call on behalf of DBT. Note that applications will not be accepted from anyone who is being supported through current ERC… Read more
We were back at University of Warwick – Warwick Business School‘s offices at The Shard on December 2nd 2025 for the 10th annual ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference… and what a day! The focus this year was on small business support, inclusion and growth. Earlier this year, the government published a new small… Read more
The LSBS is an annual telephone survey of UK SMEs led by the DBT, which has been running since 2015. It covers a broad range of topics around the factors that affect SME performance, including ambition, innovation, exporting, training, access to finance and business support. The LSBS is a large-scale survey with official statistics status…. Read more
Several members of the ERC team took part in the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in Glasgow on 5th and 6th November. The conference theme this year was “Collaborating across Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: opportunities for inclusion, innovation, sustainability, resilience and growth” ERC staff presented papers on a range of themes receiving a nomination… Read more
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) UK National report 2024/25 is being launched today as part of the “Entrepreneurial Insights in a Turbulent World: Headline Findings from the GEM Survey” event hosted by Warwick Business School. Mark Hart, UK GEM lead will present findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 UK survey. Highlights from… Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more
