Regional business scaleups to be celebrated at Summit next month

The Scaleup Summit is taking place next month to shine a light on scaling companies in the region.

When published in 2016, the ScaleUp Institute’s review on economic growth report concluded that whilst the region has ambitious scaleup leaders, they continuously need help on talent, leadership and access to markets.

Meanwhile, finance and infrastructure remain an important complement to these needs, with actions required to address local disparities and unlock further investment.

Attendees at the Scaleup Summit will get the first insight into the research during a presentation by Irene Graham, CEO, ScaleUp Institute, who will discuss progress and impact on the UK.

The event will feature businesses that have been through the Scaleup North East programme with speakers including Stacey Rogers, founder of Not Just a Print, a personalised gifts business that has grown in four years from a bedroom business with 30 core products to a brand with over 350 new products.

Also at the event will be Angela Sterling, managing director and founder of Lingotot, which aims to bring languages to children up to age 11 using teaching based on sound research and experience.

Angela recently won the Digital Award at the North East Business Awards.

Stacey Rogers, founder of Not Just A Print.

Plus, Ross Tomkins - managing director of Therapy Direct and an experienced MSK physiotherapist and expert in workplace health and ergonomics - will be there.

Ross started Therapy Direct Healthcare in 2006, became involved with remote medical services and virtual physiotherapy in 2014 and cofounded a unique health and fitness retreat business, CF360, in 2017.

He has a global focus and vision of improving health and wellbeing worldwide.

There will also be a keynote presentation from Dr Roy Stanley, chairman of GroundSix, who has experience in scaling businesses and raising investment.

He founded The Tanfield Group as a private company in 1998 and was chief executive for a decade, overseeing its transition to AIM in December 2003.

Jason Legget, programme director of Scaleup North East, said: “In only nine months of the Scaleup North East programme, we’ve worked with over 150 inspiring scaling businesses, helping them to grow and take on new challenges.

“The Scaleup Summit is the first chance for our burgeoning scaleup community to come together, share their successes and inspire other ambitious companies to join the programme and scaleup.”

The Scaleup Summit is a Scaleup North East initiative, led by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and delivered by RTC North with the aim of creating and sustaining more scaleup businesses in the North East economy.

Scaleup North East has worked with over 150 regional businesses since launching in January 2018 and has a team of five Scaleup Partners with a vast range of Scaleup expertise across sectors. It is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.