Starting Out and Starting Up

In a new report, supported by Sage, we examine how young people’s routes into work have changed since 2022. Drawing on 2.2 million Sage payroll records from 111,700 UK businesses, analysed by Cebr alongside official data, we find that the number of employees aged 16 to 24 fell by 129,200 between 2022/23 and 2025/26, even as the wider workforce grew.

Over the same period, more young people started working for themselves. Around 193,000 are now self-employed, 27,500 more than in 2022/23. Yet government support for young people out of work is built around employee jobs, and there has been no dedicated self-employment route since the New Enterprise Allowance closed in 2022. Helping 5% of NEET young people into self-employment could add £4 billion to the economy by 2029.

To fix this, we set out three recommendations to make starting a business a recognised route into work, alongside apprenticeships and graduate schemes: a pilot Startup Allowance for under-25s built around mentoring, a £3,000 Youth Enterprise Grant to match what employers receive under the Youth Jobs Grant, and a youth strand of Help to Grow focused on using AI to start and run a business.

Job Creators 2026

In the latest instalment of our Job Creators series, supported by Penningtons Manches Cooper, we reveal the proportion of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing companies with at least one foreign-born founder. For the second year running, it stands at 54%, equalling the highest figure since we started tracking it in 2019. Together, these companies are worth £15.84 billion, which is 70% of the top 100’s combined valuation.

Of the 225 founders behind them, 44% were born overseas. That’s more than double the foreign-born share of the UK population. The Government is still deciding whether to double the qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten. Until it does, founders and the people they want to hire are making long-term decisions under settlement rules that don’t yet exist.

To fix this, we set out six reforms that would keep Britain open to the world’s brightest and best. Almost all of them could be made without primary legislation, and none would materially increase net migration.

Cool Britannia

Our latest Entrepreneurs Survey reveals a reputation gap: 57% of founders say the UK is a good place to start a business, but 70% say it sells itself poorly to the world. Founders can point to Britain’s real strengths — its SEIS/EIS tax reliefs (49%) and Europe’s largest pool of venture capital (42%) — but can’t name a current champion of British enterprise, still reaching for Richard Branson.

London’s Calling

Our latest Entrepreneurs Survey finds London is a magnet its own founders are tiring of. 82% say the capital’s quality of life matters to being there, but 83% name the cost of living as a top downside and 55% have considered moving out in the past year. A London base still makes fundraising easier (63%), yet founders now measure the city against San Francisco and New York, not Europe — and just 37% would encourage another founder to base there.

Entrepreneurs Survey: July 2026

Our latest Entrepreneurs Survey reveals a widening scale-up gap: 65% of founders say Britain is an easy place to start a business, but just 14% say it is easy to scale one. With 82% negative on tax and 74% finding it hard to raise investment, founders are backing themselves but losing faith in the wider environment.

How old are Britain’s top founders?

Our new study of 100 of the UK’s highest-raising companies shows that entrepreneurship is a lot less age-restricted than the Silicon Valley stereotype suggests.

Establishing a Development Corporation in Greater Cambridge — Consultation response

Our response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s consultation on ‘Establishing a Development Corporation in Greater Cambridge’.

Refining our competition regime — Consultation response

Our response to the Department for Business and Trade’s consultation on ‘Refining our competition regime’.

Growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK — Call for evidence response

Our response to the Financial Services Regulation Committee’s call for evidence on the ‘Growth and propsed regulation of stablecoins in the UK’.

Entrepreneurs Survey: March 2026

Our Entrepreneurs Survey takes the pulse of some of Britain’s most ambitious founders.

In this edition, we asked founders about their expectations for the year ahead, their thoughts on startup tax reliefs, and which political parties, if any, they believe best understand the needs of entrepreneurs.

A Sterling Opportunity

Stablecoins have the potential to revolutionise the payment industry, and jurisdictions around the world are working out how to regulate them.

In A Sterling Opportunity: The case for a pro-innovation regulatory regime for stablecoins in the UK, Hugo Okada and Osian Guthrie set out the benefits stablecoins could bring for entrepreneurs, consumers and governments, before proposing how the United Kingdom should regulate them.

Tax Support for Entrepreneurs — Call for evidence response

Our response to HM Treasury’s call for evidence on ‘Tax Support for Entrepreneurs’.

The Master Key

A significant brake on Britain’s productivity growth lies hidden in the plumbing of our bureaucracy. Business data is highly fragmented, forcing SMEs to navigate a labyrinth of disconnected portals, managing multiple credentials for HMRC, Companies House, local authorities and private financial services.

In The Master Key, published alongside Xero and Enterprise Nation, we propose a practical two-part solution: A Unique Business Identifier, paired with reusable verified business attributes issued as digital credentials. Modernisation could slash admin, tackle economic crime, and improve cash flow for businesses.

Ideas to Impact

University spinouts — startups based on commercialised academic research — are a vital source of Britain’s innovative capacity and economic prosperity. Yet new analysis from the Female Founders Forum finds that female academic entrepreneurs face a series of disproportionate barriers to commercialising their research, thus limiting their ability to participate in the spinout ecosystem.

In Ideas to Impact, we examine experiences of female academic entrepreneurs and propose a suite of recommendations for how to dismantle obstacles that prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Out of Focus

How journalists cover entrepreneurship can have profound consequences for the startup ecosystem as a whole. In Out of Focus, we reveal through survey data how founders think and feel about Britain’s media landscape.

Job Creators 2025

In the latest instalment of our Job Creators series, we reveal the proportion of founders behind Britain’s fastest-growing companies that were born overseas. This year, the rate has reached a record high since we first started tracking it – standing at 54%.

Despite the data showing the disproporitonate contribution foreigh-born founders make to Britain’s startup ecosystem, we warn that policy changes outlined in the Immigration White Paper risk filtering out further international talent from coming to the UK.

To guard against this, we outline a series of policy recommendations that the Government should adopt in order to keep Britain open to the world’s brightest and best.

Entrepreneurs Survey: November 2025

Our Entrepreneurs Survey takes the pulse of what Britain’s most ambitious founders think about the current state of the economy, their expectations for the year ahead, and their opinions on topical issues. In this edition, we asked founders about their hopes and fears for the upcoming Autumn Budget, the impact last year’s had, their experience of AI adoption, and which political parties, if any, they believe best understand the needs of entrepreneurs.

Ambition Unlimited

Young entrepreneurs are uniquely placed to deliver the economic growth and innovation which Britain sorely requires – yet this cohort faces unique challenges to succeed.

In Ambition Unlimited we document what young founders think and feel about what it’s like to build a business in Britain today.