UK mid-sized businesses hold firm on 2026 investment plans

UK mid-sized businesses are maintaining their investment ambitions despite economic uncertainty and a challenging first half of 2026, according to new research from Shawbrook.

Data from the bank’s latest report, The M Agenda: The Medium-Sized Business Gap, found that four in five (80%) mid-sized firms entered 2026 intending to invest financially in their businesses to support future growth.

At the midpoint of the year, Shawbrook said business leaders continue to work towards delivering those investment plans despite pressures ranging from global tariff uncertainty and fluctuating interest rates to inflation, taxation and skills shortages.

The research indicates that smaller businesses within the mid-market demonstrated the strongest appetite for investment. Some 83% of businesses with annual turnover between £5 million and £9.9 million planned to invest during 2026, compared with 81% of those turning over between £10 million and £49.9 million.

Among the largest businesses surveyed, with turnover between £50 million and £100 million, the proportion was lower but remained significant at 74%.

The findings highlight the potential importance of access to finance in helping mid-sized businesses translate their growth ambitions into investment, particularly as companies contend with a more complex economic and operating environment.

Amit Rai, Co-Founder of Astra, a London-based industrial holding company focused on acquiring and scaling SMEs, said the business had maintained its investment strategy despite the challenges encountered during the year.

“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,” he said.

However, Rai said domestic policy uncertainty and persistently high inflation continued to create difficulties for businesses looking to expand.

“For Astra, excessive bureaucracy, and high taxes, especially National Insurance, have been particular pain points, along with hiring trained tradespeople and engineers,” he said.

“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.”

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Rudge added that the strength of investment intentions among smaller mid-sized companies demonstrated a clear appetite to expand.

“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.”

The findings suggest that, while economic pressures have made delivering investment programmes more challenging, the UK’s mid-sized business community continues to prioritise growth. Access to appropriate funding is likely to remain an important factor in determining how much of that planned investment can be realised during the second half of 2026.