Much of the UK’s business focus gravitates toward two extremes: the start-ups chasing investment and the corporates shaping policy; but it’s the segment that that sits between these, the mid-tier SMEs, that have the power to transform our economic output.
Britain’s mid-tier businesses make up just 0.5% of UK companies, but they generate over a quarter of national turnover. Small to medium-sized businesses are the UK’s biggest employers and wealth generators. In 2025, there were 5.68m SMBs in the UK (up to 250 staff), employing 16.9m people and generating £2.8 trillion in revenues.
Last year, the number of UK scale-ups grew to a record 44,595, contributing £2.19 trillion to the UK economy and employing 3.9m people (Scale-Up Institute 2025 Annual Report). Despite representing less than 1% of UK businesses, scale-ups account for nearly half of the total economic output generated by all SMEs. Yet they have been called “the forgotten middle child of UK business”.
Supporting the forgotten middle
That’s because, despite their contribution, mid-tier businesses are often under-supported. They’re too large for start-up funding initiatives and too small to attract the bespoke attention of big-business advisors. They operate in a space that’s both powerful and precarious. They might be ambitious and capable, but they often lack the leadership capacity needed to continue to scale with confidence.
The ScaleUp Institute believes that, if the UK is to capitalise on our long trading heritage and vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, we must lean in to support our ‘forgotten middle’.
Many of these mid-tier firms hit a wall not because of lack of opportunity, but because of a lack of access to strategic leadership, specialist expertise, and experienced C-suite insight to help them capitalise on growth opportunities. These are precisely the capabilities that fractional leadership can unlock.
In its 2025 Annual Report, the Scale-Up Institute highlighted access to strategic leadership as one the biggest enablers of scale – with 60% of founders and CEOs surveyed looking for fractional leaders and board advisors with Finance, HR, Sales & Marketing expertise.
They need the same strategic capability and C-suite experience that large corporates rely on, but cannot justify the full-time cost or risk of a bad hire.
In an ever more complex and uncertain global economic landscape, growth demands navigating trade-offs between risk and reward, innovation and stability, investment and cashflow. Businesses need leaders who can operate in that ambiguity, drawing on cross-sector experience and adaptive thinking.
The future is fractional
It’s at times like these that the fractional leadership model shines. It gives businesses flexible access to the strategic minds they need, without the rigidity or cost of a full-time hire. It’s a more agile talent strategy for an unpredictable economy.
Fractional leadership provides the right calibre of expertise at the right time. Liberti’s ecosystem spans finance, marketing, people and sales, so clients benefit from collective capability rather than isolated expertise.
Fractional isn’t a prelude to permanent hires; it’s a flexible, scalable long-term partnership built on the fact that employment doesn’t automatically equal loyalty or longevity. Many fractional leaders build relationships that outlast traditional hires through trust, continuity, and shared investment in results.
The best fractional executives feel no different to permanent employees because they are immersed in your culture, involved in mentoring internal teams, and busy co-creating strategies that help you scale sustainably.
“The fractional approach will unlock the next wave of UK growth,” says Sara Daw, Group CEO of Liberti. “It can provide our middle children with the leadership capacity they need in an accessible, affordable way and we see every day how this delivers transformational impact. Just a one percent increase in mid-market growth could add £35 billion in gross value and £115 billion in business turnover to the UK economy by 2030.
“That’s why Liberti and its group of market leading fractional providers exists. We are building the ecosystem that supports ambitious mid-tier businesses and unlocks growth potential.”
Contact Liberti to find out how we can help you to grow your business.