Deloitte has unveiled the latest edition of its annual EME Scale-Ups Confidence Survey, providing a comprehensive overview of the confidence, priorities, and challenges faced by scale-ups across Europe and the Middle East. Despite economic uncertainties and operational hurdles, the survey reveals a resilient and optimistic outlook among scale-ups, with many planning to expand their teams, raise additional funding, and explore new markets. The report highlights critical insights into the scale-up landscape, including the preference for M&A over IPO, and the United States as the top choice for international expansion. As scale-ups continue to drive job creation and economic resilience, the survey underscores the importance of sustained support from investors and policymakers to navigate the complex growth environment.

Summary of the key findings

• Scale-ups remain confident, with many planning to expand their teams and raise additional funding. 
• Customer acquisition is the top challenge across the EME region, with most scale-ups citing a delay or reduction in new business as a key growth barrier. 
• Few scale-ups have a defined exit strategy, and those that do favour M&A over IPO. 
• The United States is the leading choice for international expansion.  

¹In the report, the term 'scale-ups' covers the full range of maturity stages of emerging growth companies. We surveyed 434 number of scale-ups across 7 geographies across EME in compiling this survey (Belgium, Greece, Middle East, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom).