• Based on largest-ever survey of UK LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs

• Sector focus on tech, fintech, biotech and sustainability

• Challenges include disclosure issues, discrimination and doubt

LONDON, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with OutBritain, the UK's first LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce, Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), a leading think tank focusing on diversity and tech, has today launched its LGBTQ+ Businesses Count report, which examines the contribution, challenges and characteristics of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs across the UK. In the absence of official UK data on LGBTQ+ businesses, this pioneering report presents the results of the largest-ever survey of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in the UK.

The report, sponsored by Accenture, Dow and Goldman Sachs, estimates that there are at least 250,000 LGBTQ+ businesses in the UK, which employ at least 750,000 people, many of them LGBTQ+, and have a combined turnover of at least £106 billion. The largest business founded by an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur that the report identifies is Global Media and Entertainment, which owns Heart, Capital, LBC and many other radio stations, whose founder and CEO Ashley Tabor-King is openly gay.

Most LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in the report's survey pointed to particular challenges that they have faced in business because of being LGBTQ+. The most prevalent was doubt, followed by disclosure issues, notably invasive or inappropriate questions and a lack of role models. Next were discrimination and disconnection from mainstream business networks.

At the same time, most entrepreneurs mentioned benefits to their business from being LGBTQ+. Some 68% said it made them more determined to succeed and overcome adversity and 67% that their diverse perspectives and experience yielded business benefits, while 42% gained from an LGBTQ+ customer base.

To mitigate some of the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, OPEN proposes three recommendations on collecting better data, providing distinct support and developing supplier diversity:

1. Better data. Good public policy, sound business decisions and broader public understanding all require solid data. Companies House therefore ought to ask (but not require) company directors to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity.

2. Distinct support. To ensure that LGBTQ+ businesses have a voice in government, an LGBTQ+ business envoy should be appointed. Mainstream business networks should also be more pro-active in attracting, including and representing LGBTQ+ businesses. OutBritain also has a crucial role to play.

3. Supplier diversity. Both large corporates and public authorities ought to do more to enhance equality of opportunity for diverse businesses, notably LGBTQ+ ones, in their procurement decisions. This would help LGBTQ+ businesses overcome the entrenched disadvantages they face, while providing corporates with more diverse and resilient supply chains.