Home Business NewsBusiness Three in five UK businesses predict improved performance in the coming year, with London companies most bullish

Three in five UK businesses predict improved performance in the coming year, with London companies most bullish

by
5th Jun 18 7:43 am

Study shows

Three in five (59 per cent) businesses believe their prospects will improve in the next year, according to new data from Smith & Williamson’s inaugural report: Dream bigger: The scale-up moment. In a show of confidence from the UK’s business community, a quarter (26 per cent) go as far to say that their position will improve ‘significantly’ over the coming 12 months.

The study also indicated that business leaders are growing tired of delaying expansion plans as they wait for the outcome of Brexit. One in three (33 per cent) say they will increase their level of borrowing in the next 12 months to fund growth plans, with nearly one in five (17 per cent) saying they would borrow ‘much more’. More than half (52 per cent)f of the UK’s businesses plan to increase their headcount over the same period, with this rising to 71 per cent among companies with 50-250 employees.

According to research, banks and investors could be loosening their purse strings. More than one in three (38 per cent) companies in the sample believe that access to finance has improved in the last year – almost four times the 11 per cent of firms which feel it has worsened.

Businesses in London more optimistic about the future

Sentiment did vary regionally, with London-based companies far more bullish about their future. Three quarters (75 per cent) of businesses in the capital see their prospects improving in the next year, with more than half (53 per cent) planning to increase their borrowing. However, in the West Midlands, this drops to 59 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, highlighting the difference between London and regional economies.

While three in five (63 per cent) businesses based in London believe the funding environment has improved, other regions are less positive. For example, in the South-East and South-West only 20 per cent believe that access to funding has eased.

How does business confidence vary across UK regions?

UK region per cent of businesses which think their prospects will improve in next year
London 75 per cent
North West 60 per cent
West Midlands 59 per cent
North East 57 per cent
East Midlands 52 per cent
Wales 50 per cent
South West 49 per cent
Yorkshire and Humberside 46 per cent
East 44 per cent
South East 44 per cent
Scotland 29 per cent

Guy Rigby, head of entrepreneurial services at Smith & Williamson, said: “The UK continues to have a fertile business environment which is being helped by a buoyant world economy.  Interest rates remain low, employment is strong, inflation is falling and the cumulative effect of these is contributing to the confidence of our entrepreneurs.

“While the entirety of the UK is a great place to start and grow a business but there are concerns that regional development is falling behind. London has everything that growing businesses need and this creates a clustering effect: businesses of a similar size and type gather together, creating a powerful ecosystem – developing knowledge, generating jobs, increasing access to finance and, as time progresses, a snowball effect occurs.

“As a nation, we need to find ways of encouraging this type of business clustering outside London. While progress has been made in some areas, such as the process industry cluster in the North-West, biotech in Cambridge and Bristol’s tech cluster, it takes time to build momentum. It’s possible that faster progress could be achieved by a relaxation of local planning policies and the judicious use of business rates relief by Councils.”

Leave a Comment

CLOSE AD

Sign up to our daily news alerts

[ms-form id=1]