Mid-year reality check: UK mid-sized businesses hold firm on 2026 investment plans
The UK’s medium-sized businesses are proving resilient in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty, refusing to shelve growth plans despite a challenging first half of the year.
According to data from Shawbrook’s latest report The M Agenda: The Medium-Sized Business Gap, four in five (80%) of mid-sized firms set out with firm intentions to financially invest in their businesses in 2026. Now, at the midpoint of the year, business leaders continue to work to turn those intentions into reality despite persistent hurdles – from global tariff uncertainties to fluctuating interest rates.
The data highlights that smaller mid-sized businesses have been the most aggressive in their growth ambitions. More than four-fifths (83%) with a turnover between £5m-£9.9m planned to invest, 81% of those turning over £10m-£49.9m, and 74% of the largest mid-market firms (£50m-£100m).
Amit Rai, co-founder of Astra, a London-based industrial holding company focused on acquiring and scaling SMEs, said: “We entered 2026 with a clear mandate to aggressively invest for growth, because we believe in Britain – its hard-working SME founders and employees and their genuine openness to adopting new technologies such as AI to drive productivity. This plan has remained firmly on course.
“This year has not been without its challenges, however. Businesses of our size have been impacted by domestic policy uncertainty and persistently high inflation. For Astra, excessive bureaucracy, and high taxes, especially National Insurance, have been particular pain points, along with hiring trained tradespeople and engineers. For mid-sized businesses to make good on their ambitions and scale at pace, we need a funding and regulatory ecosystem that prioritises agility, reduces red tape, and gives global investors as much reason to believe in Britain as we do.”
Neil Rudge, chief banking officer at Shawbrook, said: “When we looked at the business landscape for 2026, the data showed an overwhelming defiance. Eighty percent of mid-sized firms refused to let economic uncertainty dictate their future, choosing instead to invest their way through the challenges.
“Now that we are halfway through the year, the reality is that executing these plans hasn’t been easy. Mid-market leaders have had to navigate a complex economic backdrop, making agile and accessible funding more critical than ever. The ambition to scale is clearly there – particularly among smaller mid-sized firms. For the UK economy to benefit from this resilience in the remainder of the year, funding partners must match this ambition with fast, flexible, and certain capital.”