The business support group, Enterprise Nation, has published their authoritative Small Business Barometer report, polling 800 small companies and consulting dozens more via focus groups about their confidence and growth ambitions.
The findings show that, despite concerns over Brexit, 68 per cent of Britain's smallest firms expect to see growth over the next six months. Of those, 59 per cent said they planned to boost profits by introducing new products or services and 81 per cent said they felt confident their business would still be around in 12 months' time.
Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones said: “The smallest firms are unlike any other business community and they remain the most optimistic, despite the barrage of negativity they are constantly exposed to … their contribution to the British economy in terms of revenue and employment cannot be dismissed."
Exporters feeling the financial effect of Brexit
Further research by Enterprise Nation shows that 21 per cent of small businesses are exporting, with 54 per cent of those saying they expected to see growth over the next six months. 34 per cent of the more established exporters (those who have been exporting for more than six months) said Brexit had in fact had a negative financial effect on their businesses.
In a separate report, analysis from Oxford Economics (OE) shows that European Union (EU) is less significant for UK exporters. The EU’s share of British exports has fallen as demand for British goods elsewhere rises whilst economic growth in the EU remains slow. “Over 60 per cent of UK goods exports went to the EU in the late 1990s but this has fallen to around 45 per cent,” said Adam Slater at OE. “Based on our findings and OE forecasts of long-term growth in the EU and the world, the EU share of UK goods exports could fall to 37 per cent by 2035 and around 30 per cent by 2050 – back to its 1960 level.”
Specialist advisers to SME businesses
At Beavis Morgan, we have extensive experience of providing specialist advice and planning to small and medium sized (SME) businesses and we are on hand to assist you to remain profitable and increase your net worth. For more information about how we can help you and your business, please contact Steve Govey or your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.
View an infographic of the main results here.
Further reading: Small businesses missing out on international sales