Scaling Scotland – building the engine for the next 50 years of prosperity

Introduction

Last month saw the publication of an independent report led by former Skyscanner executive Shane Corstorphine.  The report is titled ‘Scaling Scotland – Building the Engine for the Next 50 Years of Prosperity’.  The report posits that Scotland stands at a pivotal moment in its economic journey. As a nation we have successfully fostered a vibrant start-up ecosystem and now the report asserts that the next challenge is clear: transforming promising start-ups into globally competitive scale-ups. The report sets out a bold vision and practical steps to close the scale-up gap and unlock long-term prosperity.

Why This Matters

Scaling businesses is critical for economic growth, job creation, and global competitiveness. Scotland currently has only 85 companies with revenues above £50 million. Closing this gap could deliver 138,000 high-value jobs and £22 billion in additional annual revenues. The report builds on and is written to live alongside the landmark work of Mark Logan’s Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (2020), and Mark Logan and Ana Stewart’s Pathways report (2023), and introduces 15 actionable recommendations across four strategic pillars.

The Four Pillars of Scaling

The report summarises the key systemic factors that most determine whether companies succeed in scaling beyond the £10m-£50m turnover stage as:

• Business Capability: Strengthening operational and strategic readiness for growth.
• Talent: Developing leadership depth and recycling experienced operators into new ventures.
• Funding: Improving access to growth-stage capital and investor networks.
• Market Expansion & Internationalisation: Supporting early and confident globalisation of Scottish businesses.

Key Themes

• Scotland’s Scale-Up Gap: Strong start-up ecosystem but weak conversion to large scale-ups.
• Cultural Foundations: Need for a deliberate entrepreneurial culture strategy.
• Systemic Challenges: Leadership experience gap, fragmented ecosystem, slow public processes, limited later-stage capital.

What the Report Seeks to Do

• Create a coherent, measurable, and scalable ecosystem.
• Position Scotland as a global test bed for ambitious companies.
• Build conditions for sustained scale, not just start-up success.
• Achieve 10 unicorns and 50 major scale-ups by 2040.

Recommendations

Through the report the panel makes 15 recommendations designed to break through Scotland’s scale-up barriers and unlock long-term growth. Each recommendation is mapped to one or more of the four pillars mentioned above.  The recommendations are:

1. Establish a Scottish Scale-Up Enablement Hub (SEH) to unify ecosystem support.
2. Build a Single Scale-Up Data Platform within the SEH for real-time tracking and predictive insights.
3. Create an ecosystem leadership layer to align cluster strategies and innovation policy.
4. Develop a tech-enabled concierge support layer for talent, funding, and internationalisation.
5. Make Scotland an attractive proposition for experienced executive talent through incentives and onboarding.
6. Deliver structured scale-up coaching and mentorship networks for leadership depth.
7. Strengthen Board capability, risk appetite and accountability with operator-led boards.
8. Create a pool of entrepreneurial operators via founder associate programmes.
9. Reform public co-investment models to recycle capital into high-potential firms.
10. Expand access to high-value growth capital (£3m–£10m) and attract international investors.
11. Review SNIB and Scottish Enterprise funding models for perpetual funding.
12. Increase Venture Debt deals for Scale-Ups and educate boards on non-dilutive options.
13. Raise funding literacy and deal readiness to prevent broken cap tables.
14. Create a ‘Scale-Up Lane’ in government for fast-track visas and procurement.
15. Commission a National Growth Culture Report to set a 10–20-year entrepreneurial strategy.

Conclusion

The report concludes that ‘Scaling Scotland’ is not just an economic imperative—it is a cultural and strategic transformation. By implementing these recommendations, Scotland can position itself as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, driving prosperity for decades to come.