A new business growth programme has been launched in Wales with the ambition of helping more established Welsh companies scale, increase productivity, create skilled jobs and compete in UK and international markets.
Sbardun will bring together investment, specialist business expertise and peer-to-peer learning through an intensive 24-month programme aimed at businesses with significant growth potential.
Announced by Adam Price MS, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, the initiative will initially work with a cohort of 20 existing Development Bank of Wales customers.
The programme represents a more intensive approach to supporting Welsh scale-ups, bringing together the resources of the Development Bank of Wales and Welsh Government business support around individual companies.
Businesses selected for the pilot will receive support to identify and overcome barriers to growth, strengthen leadership, improve productivity, access investment and networks, enter new markets and build the resilience needed to scale sustainably.
The Development Bank said participants will typically have turnover of at least £3 million, employ 10 or more people and be able to demonstrate a credible opportunity for further growth.
Alongside access to finance, participating companies will work with experienced relationship managers and growth specialists to develop tailored growth plans, with expertise available across leadership, exporting, innovation, productivity, digital transformation and strategy.
Businesses will also have access to an independent board adviser and become part of a peer network designed to allow business leaders to share experience, challenge one another and learn from companies facing similar growth opportunities.
The programme will connect participants with wider Welsh Government support across areas including exports, innovation, skills and regional business development.
Launching Sbardun, Adam Price said the programme formed part of a wider ambition to increase the number of ambitious businesses able to “start, scale and stay” in Wales.
The Cabinet Minister said improving productivity was central to increasing wages, creating better jobs and strengthening the economic base supporting public services.
He said Wales needed more businesses capable of adopting technology, innovating, attracting investment and entering higher-value markets while remaining rooted in Welsh communities.
The longer-term ambition is to develop a stronger pipeline of scaling Welsh companies, including more businesses progressing into higher turnover and employment bands and a growing number of Welsh-headquartered firms.
The first cohort will also act as a test for the new approach, with lessons from the programme helping shape the future development of Sbardun and wider work around Wales' economic approach and proposed national development agency.
The Development Bank of Wales has welcomed the launch, highlighting the importance of combining access to capital with the expertise businesses need to manage rapid growth.
Giles Thorley, Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Wales, said:
“We welcome the launch of Sbardun and its clear focus on helping established Welsh businesses unlock their next phase of growth.
“Finance is only one part of the growth journey. Sbardun will help us combine investment with targeted expertise and peer learning, working closely with customers to build the foundations for sustainable growth.
“Our focus now is on engaging eligible businesses ahead of applications opening in late November and delivery starting in April 2027.”
The approach builds on the Development Bank's wider role in providing finance to businesses across Wales. Since its creation, the Bank reports more than £1 billion of direct investment into Welsh businesses, alongside £636 million of private-sector co-investment.
Sbardun's focus goes beyond providing finance alone. Its combination of capital, experienced business leadership, specialist support and peer accountability is intended to address some of the practical challenges that can emerge as established companies move into their next phase of growth.
For Wales, the wider objective is to help create an environment in which successful businesses do not simply start here, but have the leadership, finance and support needed to scale from Wales.
The first 20 businesses will provide an early test of whether that more concentrated model of support can help produce the stronger pipeline of scaling, productive and internationally competitive Welsh companies envisaged by the programme.
Applications for Sbardun are expected to open in late November, with the first programme beginning in April 2027.
https://businessnewswales.com/dbwsbar
