CFI: NACFB
SMEs are divided on post-recession
UK SMEs are split as to the outlook for their business fol- lowing the downturn in the economy, research from RSM Tenon reveals.
Confidence barometer Te RSM Tenon Business Barometer, a quarterly sur- vey carried out by YouGov amongst senior management in small and medium sized enterprises, showed that 45% of SMEs thought
that pros-
pects for their business would improve post-downturn, whilst a slightly lower 44% thought it wouldn’t. Although the same num-
ber of SMEs in the North and South (42%) agreed that they felt the outlook for their business was good, the North/South divide became more apparent amongst those that thought the out- look wasn’t so positive. Over half of the SMEs in the North (54%) said that they weren’t confident that things would improve for their business, compared to 41% in the South. SMEs in the Scotland were the most posi- tive about their future, with 58% - the highest in the survey – saying that they were confident things would improve.
23rd NOVEMBER John Abbott, RSM Tenon’s
head of clients and markets, said: “I don’t think we should be surprised that SMEs are still unsure as to the outlook for their business. “Te threat of a double-dip
recession and the continu- ing economic turmoil in the Eurozone will continue to make them concerned for the future, and I think it may be some time before we start to see any serious confidence coming back into the SME market.”
Positive cycle One of the SMEs not con- fident about the future is robotic systems integrator Mechatronic Systems in the Midlands, where RSM Ten- on’s Business Barometer re- sults showed that nearly half of SMEs in the regions (46%) felt that the future didn’t look positive for their business. Richard Evans, managing
director for Mechatronic Sys- tems, said: “Our business is very much influenced by the capital equipment buy cycle that precedes an upturn in our customers output, and this has been particularly strong in the automotive first tier supplier market place. “Tis capital investment
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cycle turns into production, and as new models hit the as- sembly lines, this triggers a down cycle for us. However there continues to be mas- sive investment in more new models in the West Midlands which is benefiting the equip- ment supply side as well as production suppliers, and we are hopeful of another twelve months demand.
The dark side “Over the past year we have had to play banker and take significant commercial risks of offering up to months of credit, and whilst we have had some help from our bank, we have also had to adopt other innovative ways of financing the opportunity. “We have recently lost
contracts to European com- petitors and we also see other sectors holding back on in- vestment. Tis, combined with a slowdown in demand and output, will affect us in the medium term despite ac- tively diversifying and seek- ing fresh opportunities. I think we’ll see demand drop- ping further in the coming year, and so I’m afraid I agree with the SMEs that said the future post-recession will not be so bright.”
Increase in profile leads to greater SME interest
With the raising of the NACFB’s profile over the last few years, it has become quite apparent that the NACFB brand is getting out amongst the public and small business owners. Te increasing work that the association has car- ried out at Westminster has enabled the us to build strong relationships with trade bod- ies representative of SMEs across the whole of the UK, whilst also helping to put the NACFB’s name in to the pub- lic arena. Te NACFB office has not-
ed a substantial increase in phone calls from members of the public and SME owners looking for funding, asking to verify brokers’ member- ship credentials and member- ship status with the NACFB. So, in addition to the funders oſten preferring to deal exclu- sively with NACFB brokers, it appears that the SME com- munity
are now selecting
NACFB brokers, understand- ing what NACFB membership offers them. Adam Tyler, CEO of
the NACFB, said: “Tis
is very encouraging for the association.”
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MORTGAGE INTRODUCER OCTOBER 2012 47
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