Journey

Growing your business

Scale your business - funding, hiring, and expansion strategies

Growing & Scaling Updated 15 September 2026
references 7 guides

Funding your growth

Scaling a business requires investment. Whether you're expanding premises, hiring staff, or developing new products, understanding your funding options is critical to sustainable growth.

Access growth funding

Explore grants, loans, and investment options to fuel expansion.

Building your team

Growing beyond what you can manage alone means hiring employees. This brings legal obligations around PAYE, workplace pensions, contracts, and employment rights - but also the capacity to scale faster.

Hire your first employees

Ready to build a team? Understand your employer obligations.

Expanding operations

Physical expansion - new premises, warehouses, or retail locations - requires careful planning around leases, planning permission, and business rates. Protecting your intellectual property becomes increasingly important as your brand grows.

Expand to new premises

Considerations for moving to larger or additional locations.

Protect your intellectual property

Register trademarks, patents, and designs as you grow.

Export internationally

Start selling abroad - understand export requirements and opportunities.

Managing growth finances

Rapid growth often strains cash flow - invoices come due before customers pay, stock needs purchasing upfront, and staff costs are immediate. Poor cash management is the leading cause of growing business failure.

gov.uk

Improve cash flow management (opens in a new tab)

Cash flow issues are the #1 reason growing businesses fail.

gov.uk

Get professional advice (opens in a new tab)

Consider hiring accountants, lawyers, and business advisors.

Understand R&D tax credits

Claim tax relief on innovation and research costs.

Register for VAT

As you grow, you'll likely exceed the £90,000 VAT threshold.