Three in ten UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported progress within the final 12 months regardless of the turbulent enterprise atmosphere, based on figures from Shawbrook Financial institution.
The financial institution’s analysis, performed between 9 August and eight September 2023 by Censuswide, discovered that regardless of rising prices, senior decision-makers at SMEs stay bold of their plans for the subsequent 12 months.
The respondents have been 500 full-time senior monetary decision-makers at UK companies with an annual turnover of lower than £501m.
When requested about their enterprise priorities for the subsequent 12 months, 18 per cent mentioned they have been concentrating on consolidating their enterprise with an additional 17 per cent eyeing up worldwide enlargement.
Learn extra: SMEs extra assured to tackle finance in September
Recruitment was additionally highlighted as a key space, with 28 per cent aiming to broaden by recruiting new expertise and an additional 26 per cent targeted on upskilling their groups.
Digitalisation additionally featured excessive on the precedence checklist, with a fifth (21 per cent) reporting they are going to be enterprise a digital transformation subsequent 12 months.
Elsewhere, a 3rd (33 per cent) mentioned they have been specializing in bettering productiveness and greater than a 3rd (35 per cent) needed to enhance profitability.
In the meantime, almost one in 5 (17 per cent) senior decisionmakers mentioned that prioritising an exit technique was a prime concern.
SMEs with bigger turnovers have been extra inclined to stress this purpose, as nearly 1 / 4 (22 per cent) of respondents from companies with turnovers between £100m and £500m thought of it a prime precedence.
In distinction, amongst respondents from companies with decrease turnovers, solely 12 per cent shared the identical precedence.
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An analogous development emerged amongst SMEs planning to broaden by means of acquisitions. Amongst these with turnovers within the £100m to £500m vary, greater than 1 / 4 (26 per cent) marked this as a key goal.
Conversely, solely 6 per cent of SMEs with turnovers beneath the £1m threshold had this goal in thoughts.
“It’s reassuring to study that not solely are companies surviving within the difficult atmosphere however {that a} first rate proportion are thriving and reporting progress,” Shawbrook head of enterprise Neil Rudge mentioned. “It demonstrates simply how resilient SMEs within the UK are.
“Clearly future objectives fluctuate relying on the place a enterprise is in its journey, its measurement and its geography. Nevertheless, whether or not it’s hiring new staff, increasing internationally, or succession planning, in an effort to succeed most SMEs will want some sort of funding. With mainstream finance retrenching from complicated and often-pressing wants, it’s extra essential than ever for specialist lenders to step up and help our financial system.”
Learn extra: Smaller corporations taking out extra finance after decline in 2022