Outsourcing: The Secret Sauce for UK Start‑Ups
According to a fresh study by Evelyn Partners, a growing tide of British business owners are gearing up to hand more of their day‑to‑day work to external experts. Even though only 2% currently outsource, 41% of the £5 million‑plus firms surveyed say they’ll be looking to swap out‑of‑the‑box functions like payroll and tax for third‑party providers within the next year.
Why the shift?
- Cost control – Every pound saved on in‑house staff can be re‑invested in growth.
- Speed to scale – Outsourcing lets teams grow fast without the bottleneck of recruiting.
- Tech‑driven expertise – From cloud controllers to robotic accountants, specialist coders mean out‑of‑the‑box efficiency.
Out of the 500 companies polled in the UK, a third (29%) reported speeding up their exit plans over the past year—up from 23% a year and a half earlier. The trend is especially pronounced among tech firms with short life cycles: big leaps forward, but often a quick exit. These firms are quick to see outsourcing as the easiest way to keep their core engine humming while letting experts run the support crew.
“It’s just a no‑brainer for young, lean organisations,”
Helen Bassett, Partner of the Business Outsourcing Services team at Evelyn Partners (soon to be re‑branded as S&W), says: “The fast‑paced tech scene can’t afford the time and money to build a full‑time back‑office. Whether it’s payroll, taxes, HR or finance, outsourcing keeps their focus sharp and operations smooth.”
Technology makes outsourcing even sharper
Automation, robotics and cloud services have turned internal back‑office functions into a slick, digital playground—but only if you’ve got the money and the talent to pull it off. Many companies find that hiring the right staff is as hard as finding a unicorn. Outsourcing keeps them on the cutting edge without the hiring headache.
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