The UK Opportunity Is Becoming More Regional: Implications for International Exporters and Business Support Organisations

The change in UK political leadership on 20 July 2026 has brought renewed attention to themes of devolution, regional growth and industrial development. The Burnham government’s early actions, including establishing No10 North and bringing regional mayors into a revived National Economic Council, signal an intention to give regional leaders a stronger role in economic decision-making. At this early stage this cannot be treated as evidence that new commercial opportunities have emerged, but it does, perhaps, indicate the direction of travel.

For Business Support Organisations (BSOs) helping international firms enter the UK, the implication is clear: national sector priorities remain important, but they only tell part of the story. Increasingly, understanding the UK market requires looking beyond national trends. Economic priorities and sector strengths are increasingly being articulated at regional level, with combined authorities, devolved administrations and other regional bodies playing an important role in shaping their development agendas.

For international exporters and the business support organisations that assist them, adopting a regional lens may become increasingly important. Success can depend not only on identifying attractive sectors, but also on understanding where those sectors are growing, which regions are investing in them, and how local ecosystems influence market access, partnerships and business opportunities. In our experience, stronger opportunities are often found where the distinctive capabilities of firms align with a particular regional cluster, customer requirement, supply-chain gap or investment priority. This is why we advocate smart specialisation as a practical tool for international market development.

A More Regionally Differentiated Market

Political change is not a reason to make premature predictions, but it is certainly an opportunity to review assumptions about the UK market. The new government’s wider economic programme is still taking shape, but the framework for more place-based economic development was already being established before the change in political leadership.

Burnham’s record in Greater Manchester reinforces an existing direction of policy towards a more regionally differentiated approach to economic development, one in which places increasingly identify and focus on specific sectors, clusters and investment opportunities. Under Burnham’s mayoralty, Greater Manchester identified five frontier sectors: creative industries; digital, cyber and artificial intelligence; health innovation and life sciences; advanced materials and manufacturing; and low carbon. This was a Greater Manchester model but it illustrates the place-based sector focus.

For international firms, and the BSOs that support them, targeting the ‘UK market’ may increasingly be too broad a starting point. The most credible opportunity may sit within one region, one cluster or one specialised part of a value chain.

National Sectors Provide the Map

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy identifies eight growth-driving sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• clean energy industries
• creative industries
• defence
• digital and technologies
• financial services
• life sciences
• professional and business services

These sectors provide BSOs with useful signals about national priorities and areas expected to attract continued policy and investment attention. They are not, however, market-entry strategies. A company operating in advanced manufacturing might supply specialist materials, industrial software, precision components, automation equipment or monitoring technology. These activities may share a broad sector label, but they involve different customers, competitors and routes to market. The same applies to the other priority sectors.  The relevant question is not simply whether a sector is growing. It is whether the capabilities of the firms being supported correspond to a sufficiently specific and accessible UK opportunity.

The UK Is Not One Opportunity

The UK is often approached as a single national market. In practice, its industrial and innovation capabilities are distributed unevenly. Different regions contain different combinations of:

• established industries and supply chains
• specialist skills
• universities and research assets
• major employers
• infrastructure programmes
• investment priorities
• customer and procurement networks

For a BSO supporting companies targeting the UK market, this creates both an opportunity and a challenge. A national report may identify clean energy as a priority. It may say much less about which technologies are relevant in a specific region, where domestic capabilities are already well established, where gaps may exist or which types of international firm could add credible value.  Similarly, the fact that a region has a strong life-sciences, manufacturing or digital cluster does not mean that every overseas company operating in that sector represents a good fit. Strong clusters may create opportunities, but they also contain sophisticated competitors, established networks and demanding customers.

The important issue is not simply whether a sector is present. It is whether there is a sufficiently specific point of alignment between the needs of the UK market and the capabilities of the firms being supported.

Why Local Growth Plans Matter

In England, Mayoral Strategic Authorities are expected to produce ten-year plans identifying their regions’ economic strengths, opportunities and challenges. The plans should set out regional sector strengths, focused priorities and an investment pipeline of projects considered particularly important for growth. They are locally owned rather than centrally prescribed, reflecting the different circumstances of each region. The plans are intended to guide the use of devolved powers and funding and to connect regional ambitions with national policies such as the Industrial Strategy. This framework applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate under their own devolved economic-development arrangements

The guidance recommends that each plan highlight a limited number of priority investment opportunities. These may include projects centred on nationally competitive clusters, growth-driving sectors, infrastructure or regeneration.

These plans will not provide a ready-made pipeline of export opportunities. They could, however, become an increasingly valuable source of market intelligence for BSOs outside the UK, providing key insights into:

• the concentration of particular sectors and clusters
• the prioritisation of regional capabilities
• the types of investment being sought
• skills, technology and supply-chain gaps
• projects identified as regional priorities

Applying Smart Specialisation to UK Market Entry

Smart specialisation starts with focusing on the distinctive capabilities and strengths that may be relevant and competitive in a particular external market.  A BSO may represent a large number of companies from diverse sectors (food producers, technology companies or engineering businesses for example). This scale does not automatically translate into a compelling UK proposition.  We believe that the stronger opportunity lies in working with a smaller group of firms that possess a specialised capability relevant to a clearly defined UK requirement. This involves looking beyond broad sector classifications to consider:

• the specific capabilities in which firms can compete internationally
• where those capabilities complement existing UK strengths
• which regions or clusters are most relevant
• whether there is a realistic route to customers, partners or supply chains

Smart specialisation means targeting fewer focus areas and examining them more deeply. This is not about narrowing ambition. It is about concentrating resources where the potential for meaningful alignment is strongest and where there is evidence of strategic and commercial fit.

Many market-development initiatives begin with a familiar sequence. A number of high-growth sectors are selected, firms are invited to participate, and meetings are then sought with potential buyers or partners. The danger is that this creates considerable activity without necessarily fostering credible partnerships and long-term business relationships. A firm may appear relevant on paper but might lack the positioning, evidence, resources or market understanding required to compete; a prospective UK partner may operate in the right general field but have no immediate reason to engage. The result can be a programme containing many nominally relevant meetings but relatively little genuine commercial fit or long-term impact.

For BSOs, the question should therefore not be how many firms can be included under a particular sector heading. It should be whether those firms are relevant to a clearly defined UK opportunity and sufficiently prepared to pursue it.

Opportunity Still Depends On Readiness

Even where strategic alignment exists, opportunity does not automatically translate into market entry. The UK is a competitive and mature market. International firms need a clear proposition, credible evidence of international competitiveness and an appropriate route to market, along with sufficient company ambition and capacity to pursue the opportunity. They must also be able to explain why their offer is relevant to a particular UK customer or partner. This could involve demonstrating that they address an unmet requirement, complement an existing supply chain, introduce a differentiated capability or provide value that is not readily available from established competitors.

A well-selected introduction may open a door. It cannot compensate for weak positioning, limited preparation or an offer that has not been adapted to the market.  Introductions are most valuable when the opportunity has already been defined, the firm has been carefully selected and both parties have a credible reason to continue the conversation. For BSOs, a smaller number of well-prepared firms and focused introductions may create more value than a large programme built around general sector compatibility. Success should be measured through the quality of the commercial opportunities created, not simply the number of meetings arranged.

The Multiplier Effect

The value of a successful market-entry programme should not be measured only by the immediate business generated.  A well-matched partnership can develop over many years, expand into new areas of activity and create opportunities beyond the companies initially involved. A successful international firm can build confidence in the capabilities of its home market, introduce other suppliers into its UK networks and create a pathway that similar companies can follow.  The effect can also work in the other direction. A UK partner with a positive experience may become an advocate, reference customer or route into a wider cluster, supply chain or customer base. This creates a multiplier effect.

In our experience, over the longer term, it can be more prudent to concentrate resources on creating a small number of high-quality partnerships in specific niche areas of need, with the capacity to deepen and grow over time, than to pursue a broad, catch-all programme that generates activity but little lasting commercial progress.

A More Strategic Role for BSOs

The increasingly regional nature of UK economic development creates an opportunity for BSOs to move beyond general market information and broad trade promotion by assisting their firms to:

• identify where national and regional priorities intersect
• understand where specialist international capabilities and strengths may be relevant
• distinguish apparent opportunity from realistic market potential
• prepare firms to engage with the market credibly, based on careful judgement about which firms should be supported, where they should focus and when they are ready to engage with the market

This requires a combination of market intelligence, sector understanding, regional insight, knowledge of the UK commercial environment and a deep understanding of the firms being supported.

Conclusion: Target Less, Align Better

The UK’s changing political context provides a timely reason for BSOs to reassess how they identify UK market opportunities. The answer is unlikely to be found in producing a longer list of priority sectors.

National sector priorities remain a useful starting point. In England, Local Growth Plans and regional cluster strategies add a more detailed layer, showing how individual places are defining their strengths and ambitions. However, neither will automatically identify where an international firm has a credible route into the market. That requires a more focused assessment of strategic and commercial alignment. For BSOs, the central question should not be: which UK sectors are growing?  It should be: where do the distinctive capabilities of our firms align with a specific UK need, and which of those opportunities are sufficiently credible to pursue?  Smart specialisation can enable BSOs to focus more precisely, select firms more intelligently and create a stronger foundation for effective market preparation and engagement with the UK.

Exploring the Opportunity

Market Scoping International supports BSOs with the design and delivery of tailored UK and EU market-development programmes. Our work includes identifying priority sectors and niche opportunities, assessing market and company fit, strengthening the readiness and positioning of participating firms, and organising focused matchmaking meetings with relevant buyers, partners and other market stakeholders. The approach outlined in this article is one element of that wider support. Each programme is shaped around the capabilities of the firms involved, the objectives of the BSO and the requirements of the target market. If your organisation is exploring opportunities for the firms it supports in the UK or EU, we would welcome a conversation about where a more focused approach could add value.