Why the UK Is Easy to Enter and Hard to Win

Why Do So Many Companies Choose the UK First?

The pull is obvious. A large, mature market where buyers are already familiar with many established categories. No language barrier (on the surface, at least). And access to talent, corporates, and capital in the same relatively compact place.

Inpulse had a more specific reason. BDM Laure Joyeux explained that the competition it expected to face in the UK looked like the competition the company had already overcome in France. That made the fight look winnable before the team committed.

What Makes the UK So Competitive?

Every advantage the UK presents comes with a cost attached, so play devil’s advocate on every decision factor. Scrutinize it heavily.

No language barrier? Great. That lowers the barrier for your competitors, too.

Mature buyers know exactly what good looks like… so they’ll benchmark you against it from the first conversation.

And because London is where so many companies scale, prospects field more sales calls. Standing out is just tougher.

Baptiste Petelle, VP Growth at Fleet, put it plainly: “It’s super crowded. A lot of people, a lot of companies try to enter the UK, and all big tech companies right now are opening a hub in London.”

Is Competition Actually a Bad Thing?

Not necessarily. It just depends on how ready you are to challenge it, and how well you can stand out.

An empty market sounds like an opportunity, but that brings challenges, too.

Quentin Debavelaere told us this story from his time as COO & Regional GM at freelancing marketplace Malt: “When we launched in Spain, there was no competition, and we felt that it was an advantage. But you have to explain to every single customer what you are doing.”

The UK was the opposite. More competitive, yes, but arriving in a market with 25,000 recruitment agencies already operating meant Malt didn’t have to explain the value of marketplaces or using freelancers. All it had to do was be better than what was already there. That’s a much easier conversation to have.

Another benefit of entering mature markets is that they already have ecosystems. The events, partners, trade associations, and trade press are already in place and ready to use (Module 4 focuses on this).

How Do You Know the UK Is Right for You?

Based on everything we’ve covered so far, answer 3 questions honestly before you commit:

1. Is the market big enough to justify the investment?
2. Do buyers already understand what we sell, so we won’t need to explain the category first?
3. Does the competition resemble competition we’ve beaten before?

If you’re answering yes, yes, and yes, you have a strong case for taking the UK seriously. 

Just don’t expect to be rewarded for simply turning up. As Irene Engelhardt-Régnier put it: “The UK does not reward presence; it rewards relevance.”