Discover the Top 200
“J.P. Morgan Private Bank has partnered with Beauhurst to deliver a comprehensive overview of the women-powered U.K. ecosystem. We’re excited to share insights into the trends, achievements and challenges women face in realising their entrepreneurial ambitions, celebrating the top 200 businesses across Britain.”
Charlotte Bobroff
Co-Head of UK Women & Wealth Initiative
Managing Director
Co-Head of UK Women & Wealth Initiative
Managing Director
Stephanie Khalef-Wassmer
Co-Head of UK Women & Wealth Initiative
Executive Director
Co-Head of UK Women & Wealth Initiative
Executive Director
The U.K.’s leading women-powered businesses, revealed.
What is “women-powered”?
Encompassing far more than just foundership, the term “women-powered” refers to the wide-ranging contributions that women make to the British economy. Our annual report platforms high-growth companies that are:
Led or founded by women
Majority owned by women
Have a management team comprised of at least 50% women
Key stats: At a glance
Women-powered businesses continue to be a driving force – fostering growth and innovation across various sectors. Here’s how they performed in 2024.
14.5K
Companies
£116B
Combined annual turnover
30.2%
Overall investment share
Founders in focus
A selection of remarkable women, inspiring us with their extraordinary stories.
Susie Ma, Tropic Skincare
From local marketplace to U.K. powerhouse, discover the extraordinary story of Tropic – Susie Ma’s premium skincare brand.
Liz Parkinson & Rachael Edwards, Extons Foods
Learn how two sisters transformed a modest cheese delivery service into a thriving £100 million empire.
Katy Wigdahl, Speechmatics
Transcriptions and translations are the focus of Speechmatics: a pioneering AI voice recognition tool. Here, we speak directly to the CEO.
Grace Beverley, TALA and SHREDDY
Leveraging a sizeable Instagram following, influencer Grace Beverley is CEO and Founder of two world-leading brands: SHREDDY, a female fitness transformation app, and TALA, a consciously-made, “active-inspired” clothing line.
Marie Owen, LS Productions
Hear from Marie Owen: Founder of a prominent full-service, film production company.
Investor insights
Subject-matter experts share their unique perspectives.
Hannah Tapsell Chapman, Mercia Ventures
As a seasoned Investment Manager, Hannah Tapsell Chapman regularly deals with the trials and tribulations of the startup ecosystem.
Ella Goldner, Zinc VC and Alma Angels
Building deep-tech, science-led innovation, Goldner’s venture capital firms actively support and cultivate female foundership.
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Growth catalysts
For women-powered enterprise, a variety of strategies can contribute to expansion efforts – underlining the importance of flexible thinking.
Using the general high-growth population as a comparative benchmark, we take a look at how women-powered businesses are addressing growth considerations.
Regions
Perhaps unsurprisingly, London accounts for the majority of high-growth women-powered companies. While progress is being made, it’s clear that regional disparities persist.
Compared to the wider demographic representation, women-powered businesses tend to receive a lower proportion of total investment. For instance, London-based women-powered companies account for 30.3% of all high-growth ventures, yet only participate in 22.6% of deals.
Geographical makeup of women-powered U.K. businesses (2024)
Descriptive audio
Investment overview
Meaningful investment is an essential ingredient of any company’s success. In this section, we explore which key capital resources are propelling women-powered businesses.
Public
Proportionally, women-powered businesses received 16.5% of total public funding in 2014. In 2023, that figure had risen to 18.7%.
When it comes to capital, women-powered businesses were awarded £141M in grant funding – a 33.5% decrease from the previous year’s £212M.
Proportion of public investment received by women-powered businesses (2014–2023)
By the number of grants received and combined grant value per year
Private
From 2014 to 2023, overall private investment in “high-growth” companies rose from £5.21B to £17.3B.
As for women-powered businesses, private investment almost tripled in that same nine-year period, from £781M to £4.01B. In just one year (2020-2021), equity investment in these companies almost doubled.
Private investment into women-powered businesses (2014–2023)
By the number of equity investment deals and combined amount raised per year
Exits
The last two years have seen a steep decline in Britain’s overall exit market, owing to an ongoing cost of living crisis, increased inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.
Though a sense of caution underpins the current landscape, we remain optimistic. It’s clear that more and more women-powered businesses are emerging, and soon, many of those same companies will be navigating the exit process.
Proportion of exits undertaken by women-powered businesses (2014–2023)
By the combined value (where disclosed) per year, compared to male-powered businesses
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Contact us to discuss how we can help you experience the full possibility of your wealth.
Please tell us about yourself, and our team will contact you.
