Is Britain Still a World Enterprise Power?

Britain was built by some of the most extraordinary entrepreneurs in history. But who will shape its future? Is Britain still one of the world’s great enterprise powers - and if not what needs to change? 

Down the centuries, Britain has produced world-changing entrepreneurs: from the early merchants of the East India Company like Sir Thomas ‘Diamond’ Pitt; to the pioneers of the industrial revolution like Matthew Boulton, James Watt and Josiah Wedgewood; to great Victorian industrialists like George Cadbury and William Lever, and 20^th century visionaries like John Spedan Lewis.

But is Britain still an incubator for world-beaters? Can global companies still be built from a small island?

Britain is currently enjoying something of a boom in enterprise and self-employment. Many of Europe’s ‘unicorns’ – new firms worth over $1 billion - call the UK home. But few of the greatest firms created in the last 30 years are British, as new American and Chinese start-ups dominate the global super-league of world-beaters. Is Britain losing its edge? And if so what needs to change?