UK small businesses expecting growth

Over 70 per cent of small businesses in the UK are expecting dramatic or moderate growth over the next two years, according to a report from Albion Ventures.

The fourth Albion Growth Report surveyed 1,000 small businesses and found that just 5 per cent think that they are likely to shrink or wind down, whilst 50 per cent are planning to take on more employees. 

Challenges

The report identified the challenges faced by small business owners, with finding skilled staff being cited as the main challenge. This was followed by problems with red tape, regulatory change and difficulty having access to new markets.

Businesses also shared their opinions on the impact of Brexit, with 36 per cent saying that it will enable them to enter new markets and 41 per cent believing that the vote will have a negative impact.

The report also showed the areas in which business owners are the most positive about business growth, with entrepreneurs in the East Midlands being the most optimistic at 70 per cent, followed by England at 69 per cent and London at 65 per cent, whilst business owners in Wales were the least optimistic at 39 per cent.

Optimism

Albion Ventures Managing Partner, Patrick Reeve, commented: “Against a backdrop of profound change, one element that has remained reassuringly unchanged is the optimism underlying the UK’s small businesses.”                                     

He added: “The downside is that the economy is coming under capacity constraints at a time of considerable political uncertainty. While many of the pressures on growth we have seen in recent years have eased, the skills that enable us to compete are in short supply.”