Are UK SMEs gearing up for growth?

A study of the attitudes of UK Small and Medium sized businesses towards the road to recovery
 

April 2010
Commissioned by Easynet Connect
Primary research conducted by Opinion Matters

Overview
As this report is being published, our politicians are travelling the length and breadth of the country to convince us that they have the answer to the UK’s economic situation. No politician is ignoring the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their campaigns, and rightly so. According to the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, SMEs together account for more than half of private sector employment and turnover.1 With smaller revenues, fewer staff and more limited financial options compared with their larger counterparts, SMEs are much more sensitive to economic shocks. At the same time, their smaller size can be advantageous, potentially allowing them to capitalise on an upturn much sooner. The views of SMEs should therefore be seen as a critical indicator of the state of the UK’s economy recovery. If SMEs are optimistic, this will likely filter to the larger economy. If they are not, we know we have much further to go.
This report shows that optimism is returning to UK plc., but we are not out of the woods just yet. While 84% of SMEs feel positive that a return to sustained growth is on the way, most are still exercising considerable caution and seem to envisage a long and winding road to recovery. The focus for SMEs over the next 12 months therefore is to get their houses in order, ready to take advantage of the market improvements expected in 2011.

 

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