As part of its activity to support Scale Up Week (18 – 21 May), NatWest has today launched a new flagship programme open to all SMEs across the UK, to help their business grow throughout 2021. Each year a specialised team of NatWest’s Acceleration Managers will host over 200 sessions across the UK, helping 1,400 businesses to scale up.

The bank’s recently published ‘Springboard to Recovery’ report identified that SMEs often struggle to find a support programme tailored to their needs. Only 1 in 5 SMEs find the right programme and decide to enrol on it; and worryingly just 1 in 20 SMEs receive a significant productivity boost by changing their business after taking part in a programme.

The bank’s peer to peer coaching sessions will be an opportunity for up to six business owners from different industries to discuss opportunities, share experiences and any challenges they’re facing to create actionable plans. The sessions are structured around a simple, powerful framework, with peers rallying around one another to listen, ask questions and share their knowledge and experience to help their individual business grow and scale.

Commenting on the launch Andrew Harrison NatWest MD of Business Banking said:

‘The recent SME Blueprint showed that SMEs are not a homogenous group, and that support available across the UK need to be more closely tailored to their specific needs, which is why we’re delighted to be launching tailored, peer to peer coaching to allow the potential success stories of the future to learn from and each other.

It’s the responsibility of our entire industry to help reset this balance to help all SMEs and by extension the UK economy to thrive again. We’re aiming to help 1,400 SMEs reach the next stage of growth through the creation of this initiative, and I would urge others to follow our lead to help support this critical sector of business in the country’.

NatWest’s new peer to peer coaching programme is open to all businesses in the UK, with sessions due to start in June. Interested business owners can register for a session by contacting businessgrowth@natwest.com.