Osborne to unveil new UK business scheme

LONDON: British Finance Minister George Osborne on Friday will tell a business festival that UK companies should emulate Germany's Mittelstand sector of thriving medium-sized companies.

The comments, as reported by the Daily Telegraph on Friday, will be made by Osborne at the business meeting, which is sponsored by the newspaper

The Telegraph reported that Osborne will tell the meeting that some of Britain's biggest firms have agreed to join a scheme, in collaboration with the Confederation of British Industry, to help small companies expand.

Companies including BAE Systems , Tesco , Network Rail and Virgin have agreed to provide "support, advice and practical help" for smaller companies in their supply chain.

Copyright Reuters, 2011