Festival of Business: book a place at top table of winners But how can they be helped - and help themselves - to grow faster and more profitably, when consumer spending remains weak in Britain, our biggest export market is mired in a debt crisis and the lending banks are often risk averse when it comes to providing credit. Stephen Welton, chief executive of the fund, says the gloomy backdrop will make business owners more conservative, but for mid-market companies there is still a huge amount of growth to seek out in the UK and abroad. Research by Experian for the fund shows that of the more than 25,000 companies with revenue of between £2.5m and £100m, only 16pc were classed as "high growth," i.e. growing by more than 10pc a year for the past three years. Mr Welton said: "If we could increase those 4,000-5,000 high-growth companies to 10,000, it would be a very good proxy for the health of the UK economy overall. For companies of this size, there is the opportunity, even in difficult times with challenging conditions, to be able to accelerate growth. The BGF was set up in 2011 to improve access to long-term financing for mid-size businesses, and has £2.5bn of funding from the UK's biggest banks. It provides capital for expansion by taking an equity stake of up to £10m, as well as giving strategy advice and providing an experienced board member to companies it invests in. The successful launch of the Festival of Business last year saw George Osborne, the Chancellor, announce for the first time measures to help growing businesses, in front of 700 attendees. Main sessions will be followed by discussions with a panel of experts and break-out sessions. If you want a clearer idea of where the world economy is headed before you make your next business decision, Mr O'Neill, who coined the phrase "BRIC economies" - the emerging market countries of China, Russia, India and Brazil - will be there to give his highly sought-after views. Another speaker is Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com and is now the Government's digital champion. She is also chairman of the Go ON UK campaign, set up to make sure every person and organisation in the UK has internet access. Pick her brains about her extensive e-commerce experiences, and find ways to boost your sales online. Simon Milner, Facebook's policy director in the UK and Ireland, will discuss how to reach more customers and make more money from your online presence. To address the difficult question of financing growing businesses in a long-term, sustainable way, John Jenkins, chief executive of GE Capital in the UK, will be on hand. Entrepreneurs who have successfully made the most of a good idea will also be at the festival, such as Dougal Sharp of Innis & Gunn, who has built up a beer brand with a £10m turnover, 70pc of it from exports, after a happy accident involving barrels of whisky. Why is the Telegraph holding this event? We believe the only way Britain will get out of recession is by creating the best-possible environment for the entrepreneurial spirit to thrive. We want to use our access to some of Britain's leading business people to give delegates the opportunity to hear how they have achieve success. The numbers back us up - although mid-market companies make up just 1.4pc of the country's business population, they contribute 32pc of private sector GDP and employ 10.9m people, according to a report commissioned by GE Capital. The UK also has the second-largest mid-market in Europe, despite being the third-largest economy - behind only Germany. As Mr Welton says: "One of the things we're very good at in the UK is setting up businesses, there's a growing entrepreneurial flair. It's going on to the next stage - start-ups which have succeeded and become small businesses, where there are good lessons to learn from Germany. Register for The Festival of Business on October 19th