Analysis · No. 7
Who gets in the room
How often UK ministers meet big corporates, how often they meet start-ups and scale-ups, and what happens when one gets in.
One in six, against one in 48
Ministers’ 45,914 meetings named 127,873 organisations, counting each one at a roundtable as a meeting with it. 21,497 were big corporates: about one in six. 2,637 were start-ups or scale-ups, meaning companies under ten years old: about one in 48.
So ministers met big corporates about 8 times as often as start-ups.
The gap has barely moved between governments. Under the Conservatives, to July 2024, 17% of the organisations ministers met were big corporates and 2.2% start-ups. Under Labour since then the figures are 17% and 1.9%.
Share of the organisations ministers met that were each
Organisations named in ministers’ quarterly returns, each one at a roundtable counted, by year. Both bars use the same scale.
- Big corporates
- Start-ups
- 202115.2%1.4%
- 202217.5%1.5%
- 202317.8%3.1%
- 202415.7%2.4%
- 202518.0%2.0%
- 2026*16.5%1.8%
* 2026 runs to 27 July 2026. Departments publish their returns three months or more after the event, so the latest months are thin.
Show the numbers
| Year | Organisations met | Big corporates | Start-ups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24,288 | 15.2% | 1.4% |
| 2022 | 18,940 | 17.5% | 1.5% |
| 2023 | 23,501 | 17.8% | 3.1% |
| 2024 | 22,114 | 15.7% | 2.4% |
| 2025 | 27,442 | 18.0% | 2.0% |
| 2026 | 11,588 | 16.5% | 1.8% |
Prime minister by prime minister
Under every prime minister since 2021, big corporates were between 16% and 17% of the organisations ministers met. The start-up share was highest under Rishi Sunak, at 3.0%: about one organisation in 33.
Sunak’s government created the science and technology department in February 2023. The start-up share rose to 3.0% while he was prime minister. Under Keir Starmer it fell back to 1.9%. Under Boris Johnson, from January 2021, it was 1.5%.
The companies ministers met most changed over time. Under Johnson it was AstraZeneca, EDF and Shell, in the years of the vaccine and the energy price crisis. Under Sunak it was HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Google. Under Starmer, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC.
The business groups changed places too. The CBI had 223 meetings under Johnson, 66 under Sunak and 163 under Starmer. Ministers paused meetings with it in April 2023, after misconduct allegations at the organisation, and later resumed them. Startup Coalition went from 4 to 27 to 49.
Liz Truss was prime minister for seven weeks, so her figures rest on 528 meetings, in which ministers met 13 start-ups. Read her row with care. Andy Burnham took office on 20 July 2026, and only one meeting from his time has been published so far. We will add him when there are 300.
Share of the organisations ministers met that were each, by prime minister
Each organisation at a roundtable counted. Both bars use the same scale.
- Big corporates
- Start-ups
- Boris Johnson *16.3%1.5%
- Liz Truss17.3%1.0%
- Rishi Sunak17.0%3.0%
- Keir Starmer17.0%1.9%
* Our source starts in January 2021, so Johnson’s row covers January 2021 to September 2022, not his whole time in office. Starmer’s runs to July 2026.
Show the numbers
| Prime minister | Meetings | Big corporates | Start-ups | One to one: big / start-up | Most-met big corporates | Most-met start-ups | CBI | Startup Coalition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boris Johnson (Conservative), January 2021 to September 2022 | 12,862 | 16.3% | 1.5% | 56% / 30% | AstraZeneca, EDF, Shell | Starling Bank, Bulb, Together Energy | 223 | 4 |
| Liz Truss (Conservative), September 2022 to October 2022 | 528 | 17.3% | 1.0% | 64% / 50% | JP Morgan, London Stock Exchange Group, HSBC | Starling Bank, Last Energy, British Volt | 7 | 0 |
| Rishi Sunak (Conservative), October 2022 to July 2024 | 14,239 | 17.0% | 3.0% | 60% / 42% | HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Google | Starling Bank, Quantexa, Adarga | 66 | 27 |
| Keir Starmer (Labour), July 2024 to July 2026 | 18,284 | 17.0% | 1.9% | 62% / 36% | Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC | Wayve, Zilch Technology, Synthesia | 163 | 49 |
Three banks, 41% of the start-ups’ total
HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays had 1,076 meetings with ministers between them. That is 41% as many as all 1,361 start-ups we found had, put together (2,637).
Big corporates return many times. 493 of the 501 companies on our list met a minister at least once, and they averaged 44 meetings each. The ten busiest had 3,019 between them.
Most start-ups get one meeting. 70% of the start-ups that met a minister did so once. The most-met, the data analytics company Quantexa, had 29 meetings while it was under ten years old.
The big corporates ministers met most
Meetings with each company, January 2021 to July 2026. A company’s UK arm, parent and brands are counted together.
The start-ups ministers met most
Meetings while the company was under ten years old.
Drawn on the same scale as the chart above.
Alone, or one of a crowd
When a big corporate meets a minister, it is usually the only organisation there. 60% of their meetings were one to one. For start-ups the figure is 37%.
The typical start-up meeting named 7 organisations. These are roundtables, receptions and visits. A founder gets a few minutes as part of a group. In 40% of them, a big corporate was in the room as well.
Meetings where the company was the only organisation named
Share of each group’s meetings.
- Big corporates
- Start-ups
- One to one60%37%
Across all 45,914 meetings, 73% named a single organisation.
Where the door is open
Start-ups have their best odds at the Science, Innovation and Technology department, where 7.2% of the organisations ministers met were start-ups. At the Treasury the figure is 3.5%.
At the Home Office, the housing department and the levelling up department, almost none of the organisations ministers met were start-ups. Science, Innovation and Technology met the most start-ups in number: 509, or 19% of the total, just ahead of Business and Trade on 493.
The business department of 2021 to 2023 and the three departments that replaced it accounted for 59% of all meetings with start-ups. The three are the departments for Business and Trade, for Science, Innovation and Technology, and for Energy Security and Net Zero. Big corporates had their largest shares at the Ministry of Defence (35%), the Treasury (32%) and Business and Trade (25%).
Share of the organisations each department’s ministers met that were each
Departments with at least 400 meetings, ordered by the start-up share; each organisation at a roundtable counted. Bars use the same scale.
- Big corporates
- Start-ups
- Science, Innovation and Technology20.2%7.2%
- HM Treasury31.9%3.5%
- Business and Trade24.9%2.9%
- Energy Security and Net Zero24.4%2.7%
- Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy22.3%2.3%
- Transport18.8%2.0%
- Defence35.0%1.8%
- Wales Office11.8%1.7%
- Cabinet Office16.1%1.5%
- Health and Social Care7.9%1.0%
- Work and Pensions10.5%1.0%
- Northern Ireland Office2.6%0.9%
- Foreign Office7.4%0.7%
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs10.2%0.6%
- Education2.1%0.6%
- Levelling Up, Housing and Communities5.4%0.5%
- Home Office5.3%0.3%
- Housing, Communities and Local Government7.4%0.3%
Renamed departments are shown under the name they had at the time.
Show the numbers
| Department | Organisations met | Big corporates | Start-ups | Start-ups met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science, Innovation and Technology | 7,089 | 20.2% | 7.2% | 509 |
| HM Treasury | 12,261 | 31.9% | 3.5% | 433 |
| Business and Trade | 16,888 | 24.9% | 2.9% | 493 |
| Energy Security and Net Zero | 8,701 | 24.4% | 2.7% | 232 |
| Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 13,781 | 22.3% | 2.3% | 317 |
| Transport | 6,854 | 18.8% | 2.0% | 135 |
| Defence | 1,219 | 35.0% | 1.8% | 22 |
| Wales Office | 629 | 11.8% | 1.7% | 11 |
| Cabinet Office | 9,292 | 16.1% | 1.5% | 143 |
| Health and Social Care | 11,029 | 7.9% | 1.0% | 114 |
| Work and Pensions | 4,594 | 10.5% | 1.0% | 45 |
| Northern Ireland Office | 1,596 | 2.6% | 0.9% | 15 |
| Foreign Office | 5,343 | 7.4% | 0.7% | 36 |
| Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 6,315 | 10.2% | 0.6% | 35 |
| Education | 6,602 | 2.1% | 0.6% | 40 |
| Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | 5,852 | 5.4% | 0.5% | 30 |
| Home Office | 4,603 | 5.3% | 0.3% | 13 |
| Housing, Communities and Local Government | 4,321 | 7.4% | 0.3% | 12 |
The ministers who met the most start-ups
We count every start-up in every meeting. A roundtable with five start-ups counts five, and a start-up met three times counts three. Separately, 2 meetings were recorded only as a group, such as “Breakfast with UK Founders”, with no company named. We can’t count those, because the return doesn’t say who or how many. Where one of these ministers had such a meeting, it is shown next to their count.
- George Freeman · Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Science, Innovation and Technology: met start-ups 152 times, in 68 meetings, over 10 quarters
- Paul Scully · Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Science, Innovation and Technology: met start-ups 102 times, in 56 meetings, over 12 quarters
- Andrew Griffith · Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, Science, Innovation and Technology: met start-ups 91 times, in 51 meetings, over 12 quarters
- Patrick Vallance · Energy Security and Net Zero, Science, Innovation and Technology: met start-ups 87 times, in 54 meetings, over 8 quarters
- Kevin Hollinrake · Business and Trade, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: met start-ups 82 times, in 38 meetings, over 7 quarters
- Amanda Solloway · Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Energy Security and Net Zero: met start-ups 76 times, in 28 meetings, over 14 quarters
- Peter Kyle · Business and Trade, Science, Innovation and Technology: met start-ups 72 times, in 50 meetings, over 10 quarters
- John Glen · HM Treasury: met start-ups 71 times, in 28 meetings, over 15 quarters
The same, per quarter in office
A minister in post for a year has had less time than one in post for four. This divides each minister’s count by the quarters from their first recorded meeting to their last. Ministers with fewer than 4 quarters are left out, and the latest quarter is thin because departments publish late.
- George Freeman · Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Science, Innovation and Technology: 15.2 a quarter (152 times over 10 quarters)
- Kevin Hollinrake · Business and Trade, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: 11.7 a quarter (82 times over 7 quarters)
- Jonathan Berry · Science, Innovation and Technology: 11.4 a quarter (57 times over 5 quarters)
- Poppy Gustafsson · Business and Trade: 11.2 a quarter (45 times over 4 quarters)
- Patrick Vallance · Energy Security and Net Zero, Science, Innovation and Technology: 10.9 a quarter (87 times over 8 quarters)
- Dominic Johnson · Business and Trade: 10.3 a quarter (62 times over 6 quarters)
- Paul Scully · Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Science, Innovation and Technology: 8.5 a quarter (102 times over 12 quarters)
- Kanishka Narayan · Science, Innovation and Technology: 8.5 a quarter (34 times over 4 quarters), plus 1 meeting with start-ups the department didn’t name
What the meetings were for
Start-up meetings are mostly about technology. 41% of them mention AI, data, digital or another tech subject, against 15% of big corporates’ meetings.
27% of start-up meetings were described as a roundtable, forum, reception or dinner, against 16% for big firms. Talk of investment was about as common for both: 26% and 22%.
What the meeting was for
Share of each group’s meetings whose recorded purpose mentions each subject. A meeting can mention several.
- Big corporates
- Start-ups
- Investment22%26%
- AI and tech15%41%
- Energy and net zero20%23%
- Regulation6%7%
- Trade and exports5%6%
- Roundtable16%27%
Read from the short purpose departments write against each meeting, such as “To discuss investment in the UK”. Many say only “introductory meeting” or “general discussion”.
Who speaks for whom
The CBI, which speaks for big business, had 459 meetings with ministers. Startup Coalition, the main lobby group for start-ups, had 80.
Small firms in general are well represented: the Federation of Small Businesses had 469. The groups that speak for young, fast-growing firms had far fewer. Together, Startup Coalition, the ScaleUp Institute, Entrepreneur First, Tech Nation and Startup Discovery School had 191. Venture capital firms, which invest in start-ups, were in 294.
Meetings with groups that speak for business
Ministers’ meetings, January 2021 to July 2026.
If you run a start-up or scale-up
- Aim for the roundtable. Only 37% of start-up meetings were one to one. Departments tend to invite organisations they already know, so trade bodies, accelerators and investors are a likely route onto the list.
- Start where the door opens. 59% of start-up meetings were with the business, science and energy departments. 7.2% of the organisations Science, Innovation and Technology ministers met were start-ups, and hardly any at the Home Office or the Department for Education.
- Make the first meeting count. 70% of the start-ups that got in did so once. Go in knowing what the minister and their department have already said and done on your issue.
- Back the groups that speak for you. The CBI had 459 meetings. Startup Coalition had 80. Their access is how start-up concerns reach ministers between your own meetings.
Before you meet a minister or official, a Seam meeting briefing puts what they and their department have said and done on one page.
How we did this
Method and caveats
Data. Every meeting with an outside organisation that UK government ministers recorded in their quarterly transparency returns on GOV.UK, 4 January 2021 to 27 July 2026: 45,914 after removing exact repeats (same day, minister, department and list of organisations). Departments publish these returns under the Ministerial Code, usually three months or more after the quarter ends. Some departments’ returns are not in our sources. The culture, justice and former international trade departments’ returns are missing, and Defence’s are partial. We leave out senior officials’ and special advisers’ returns, because departments file them much less evenly.
A meeting. One line of a return. Counting. Every organisation named in a meeting counts as one meeting with that organisation, so a roundtable listing twelve companies is twelve meetings, as in the Start-up Access Index. The shares are of all the organisations ministers met. Being alone or in a crowd is still judged by meeting. We leave out meetings that name no organisation.
Big corporates. A list of 501 of the largest companies operating in the UK, drawn up by hand: nearly all of the FTSE 100, the biggest foreign multinationals, and the big banks, insurers, asset managers, accountancy, consulting and law firms. A company’s UK arm, parent and main brands count as one (Google with Alphabet and DeepMind, for example). OpenAI, Anthropic and other well-funded AI companies are counted here, not as start-ups. We do not count state-owned businesses, news organisations, trade bodies, charities, or pension and sovereign wealth funds. We match names as written in the return. So a meeting with “Lloyds Bank Foundation” does not count as Lloyds.
Start-ups and scale-ups. Throughout, “start-ups” means start-ups and scale-ups: companies under ten years old on the day of the meeting, founded anywhere in the world, and not listed on a stock market by then. Who owns them doesn’t matter. A company does not count when its recent registration does not mark a new venture: when a company registered long before controls it (an established group’s subsidiary), or when its accounts show 200 or more staff within three years of registering (a running business taken over, such as one bought out of administration). OpenAI, Anthropic and the other big AI labs count as big corporates. We find them in two ways.
First, an organisation in the meeting that matches, by name, a company on the Companies House register (snapshot of 1 November 2026) that was under ten years old on the day of the meeting. The company must be a private limited company that is trading and not dormant. We treat public limited companies as listed. We match brand names to registered names where only one fits (“Wayve” to Wayve Technologies, for example), or through a list of start-ups that gives the registered name or number: UKRI grant winners, the British Business Bank’s Future Fund companies and Wikidata (145 found this way). We leave out names that match more than one company, and new holding companies over older businesses. We also leave out trade bodies, charities and community interest companies. We leave out the UK arms of overseas companies, because the date a firm opens a British office says nothing about its age. And we leave out companies in property, consultancy and other industries where a new company is rarely a start-up. We then checked every match and removed 564 that were wrong: a person or place with a company named after them, a namesake of a big firm, a joint venture or a project company. The list of removals, with reasons, is in our code.
Second, for names the register can’t settle, including companies founded outside the UK, we checked who they were and when they were founded, one at a time, from web sources (701 found this way). Each of these counts only once it has passed a second check: it has raised money from outside investors, at pre-seed stage or later (angels, venture capital, equity crowdfunding, an accelerator such as Y Combinator, or the government’s Future Fund), with a source for it, or we have checked it by hand. A company founded in the past five years counts without that second check. Legora, the Swedish legal AI company, is one. For a UK company, its age runs from the day its trading company was registered, and we use the register’s date wherever we know the company number. Where only the founding year is known, we count the company’s age from 1 January of that year. A company stops counting from the day it lists on a stock market.
Limits. The count of start-ups is a floor. The register lists live companies only, so we miss UK start-ups that met a minister and then closed, unless a hand check found them. We also miss a start-up named in a return only by a nickname or a founder’s name. Big corporates are a fixed list, so we do not count a large company that is not on it. Departments describe meetings in their own words, and some name only “various stakeholders”. These limits could move the figures a little either way, but not enough to close a gap of this size.
What the meetings were for. Keyword matches on the purpose each department records against the meeting, and on the names in it. “AI and tech” includes words like AI, tech, digital, data, cyber and quantum. “Roundtable” includes forums, panels, receptions and dinners.