Unlocking Insights for the Year Ahead: Launching Growth Outlook 26

On Wednesday, we launch Growth Outlook 26 – our comprehensive analysis of business growth potential across the UK in the year ahead. 

This is the third edition of our annual Growth Flag report, providing insights on the key trends shaping our economy and where the greatest growth potential exists in 2026. Built on Growth Flag data, we produce Growth Outlook to generate comparisons, share best practices, and provide insights for the year ahead for everyone working in the economic development community.  

Why is this so important? Growth potential is everywhere and waiting to be unlocked. In times where achieving growth is top of the agenda, being able to identify and realise opportunities for growth has never been more important. Comprehensive, forward-looking and firm-level data helps make this task much easier. 

In the past, decisions have often been made based on the gut of local teams, what feels right, or what has worked in the past. This local experience has a vital role to play in all places to unlock growth for businesses and communities, but it only provides part of the puzzle. How businesses grow has been changing. Our economy is shifting with the advent of new technologies, differing work trends and changing ways of doing business - bringing both opportunities and challenges. How we think about growth also has to change, to look at relevant metrics for business growth today, and to effectively identify opportunities moving forward. 
Growth Outlook brings together insights on business opportunity for all single and upper tier local authority areas across the UK – providing data on high growth potential businesses, business value and risk, and comparisons to wider regions and the UK overall. With Growth Flag, these insights go deeper, with firm-level data and Growth Scores provided to allow areas to work with the right businesses at the right time. 

As we launch Growth Outlook 26 this week, we’ll also highlight some of the key trends faced by businesses nationwide and looks to what 2026 could have in store for local and national policy delivery. The year ahead offer a range of opportunities, but also a variety of challenges.  

For many, the business reality today is characterised by significant challenge. Skills shortages, higher taxation and trade uncertainty are having a real impact on businesses up and down the country. Despite this, there are still many opportunities to achieve growth. Our data shows that, while significant divergences exist, growth opportunities can be found in every sector and every local area. Growth isn’t limited to big cities and tech parks, and indeed it can often be found in places you might not expect to find it. With Growth Outlook’s launch this week, we’ll be sharing data, insights and analysis to help find and unlock those growth opportunities in local places.  

The latest data-driven evidence will continue to have a vital role in helping to drive growth in 2026. With the UK’s most comprehensive analysis of business growth potential at local authority level, Growth Outlook 26 can help unlock growth insights for the year ahead. 

Growth Outlook 26 is released at 00:01 on Wednesday 21 January 2026. Complete the form here to receive the report as soon as it is released.