Game-changing’ Growth Flag launched to help identify business growth potential

New online tool will help unlock opportunity and drive economic development

A new, first-of-its-kind, online tool which helps identify businesses and sectors with growth potential has been launched this week.

Growth Flag is a simple and reliable way for users to identify growth, which is essential for people, businesses, and places to thrive.

Designed with policy makers, commissioners, business decision-makers and analysts in mind, Growth Flag pulls live data from a comprehensive dataset which can then be easily analysed by the user, to instantly understand where growth potential exists in individual businesses across the UK.

The tool can also be used by client-facing teams such as business to business sales and marketing teams. Developed through a partnership with social enterprise Growth Company and data intelligence platform, Red Flag Alert, the resulting product brings together Red Flag Alert’s background in data insights, with the Growth Company’s expertise in delivering inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth.

Richard Jeffery, National Director, GC Business at The Growth Company, says: “We’ve established an incredibly important partnership to create Growth Flag. We’ve brought together Red Flag Alert’s tech-data capabilities with The Growth Company’s deep knowledge and understanding of what the economic community, and local and combined authorities need. We’ve created something really unique.

“It will help you unlock huge opportunities in your local area – to find those companies that have got growth potential and be future stars. But it’s not just at the company level that’s going to be interesting. When you start to look at groups of businesses, you start to understand the dynamics of a place and perhaps find growth where you’ve not found or looked for it before. It’s a game changer and something that will absolutely drive change in economic development.”

Growth Flag is a unique decision support tool, helping to facilitate strategy development and resource allocation. Organisations using the tool will be able to confidently plan, target, and analyse growth within their markets or to better understand local economies, and develop knowledge about future growth potential through in-depth analysis.

Public sector organisations such as Local and Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), as well as colleges and universities can use the platform to understand their local economy and support sectors that have the highest growth potential.

They can use the online tool to inform policy making, investment strategies and bids – and in the case of educational establishments – curriculum development and academic research.

Private sector businesses can use Growth Flag to understand emerging markets and target relevant sales and marketing activity, and to offer tailored solutions based on where clusters of businesses are on their growth journey.

Data derived from a Growth Flag search is objective, and evidence based, not driven by pre-disposed assumptions. The results demonstrate to users where growth is in any chosen postcode area, town, local or combined authority, sector or type of business. It can help identify where growth is taking place that might not be expected.

Richard West, Managing Director of Red Flag Alert, says: “I’m driven by a passion for data that makes a difference, and I’ve grown Red Flag Alert from a team of three, to a multi-million-pound organisation powered by a hand-picked team of #databosses. I know from experience that the right analytics and insights can create – and change – conversations, while helping to solve some of the key challenges that businesses face day in, day out.

“Together with The Growth Company, I’m proud to have created a platform that’s different to other growth analysis tools on the market. Growth Flag isn’t like other business intelligence platforms – it treats data as a treasure which deserves better than being labelled as a boring business need. Many other systems claim to provide real-time data on growth potential, but Growth Flag does so much more than just churn out numbers.

“I’m confident that Growth Flag will be invaluable in helping to make decisions based on rich data and understanding of real economic drivers – effectively helping to target resources and allocate funding in the best possible way using trusted data.”

Chief Economist and Head of Public Sector at Red Flag Alert, Dr Nicola Headlam, says: “I have looked at the problem of differential subnational economic growth from every angle. The differences between places and the reasons for the crazy inequalities we see in the UK are complex and there is no one fix or tool that can magic away regional and local disparities.

“Having said this, people making enormous decisions about the future of the north are doing so using data which is time-lagged, out of date, or biased or just wrong and this makes the challenges so much harder.

“Growth Flag puts the best data in the hands of decision makers, activists, change agents and entrepreneurs and builds up from firm level microdata to create unique views of growth even within the uncertain macro climate. I am so proud to combine our analytics with the economic development networks of the Growth Company in a platform designed for economic development specialists by economic development specialists at an affordable price for the very first time.”

Growth Flag was one of the headline sponsors of the 2023 Convention of the North. The partnership and product were formally launched at the event with a series of workshops which gave the opportunity for political leaders to see how they might be able to use Growth Flag to target activity and support local economies.

You can visit the website here – http://growthflag.com/

For more information about the Growth Company, you can visit https://www.growthco.uk/

For more information about Red Flag Alert, you can visit https://www.redflagalert.com/