In Focus Commercial Credit
The weak pound Whilst the weak pound has been a challenge for many, the UK’s faster growing small businesses again see the upside from uncertainty, highlighting the opportunity for exporting goods and building market share in overseas markets (31%).
Backing British business Overall, 29% of business owners predicting significant growth were also most likely to believe a dividend from Brexit was the UK government would be obliged to do more to support UK small businesses. In recent decades, the UK has sought to attract overseas businesses to locate to the UK – for example, in 2018 alone London welcomed more international financial-services firms than any other financial centre. From our latest research, it is clear many
small business owners believe the government will focus more attention on showcasing British success stories to the world and, in doing so, to do more to support the growth of domestic small businesses.
Less red tape Small businesses predicting significant growth like to move quickly, they like efficiency and often play on agility: attributes that all make a virtue of their relatively small size. With this in mind, red tape is seldom
welcomed – and one of the upsides that business leaders predict from Brexit is a reduction in rules and bureaucracy that would hold them back (28%). Brexit may or may not prove to reduce
red tape for small companies, but the research underlines that anything that reduces it is welcomed by business – and specifically those that are growing quickly. The prospect of a reduction in red tape
was also welcomed by seasoned, older firms (those trading more more than 35 years – 26%) and enterprises in the agriculture (38%) and real estate (27%) sectors.
Taking on the big boys Small business owners were also acutely aware of a domestic, tactical advantage presented by Brexit – that of stealing
May 2019
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significant market share from bigger UK competitors that would be more distracted by Brexit (24%). This is perhaps a prime example of how the small business community can use their size as an advantage to grow during times of uncertainty. It seems our smaller businesses have a
It seems our smaller businesses have a ‘business means business’ rhetoric. Over the course of the last few years we have asked how they have been feeling about Brexit and, contrasting to the wide-ranging – even exhaustive – national debates, small businesses have been remarkably calm and pragmatic, just wanting to get on with running their ventures
‘business means business’ rhetoric. Over the course of the last few years we have asked how they have been feeling about Brexit and, contrasting to the wide-ranging – even exhaustive – national debates, small businesses have been remarkably calm and pragmatic, just wanting to get on with running their ventures. Our latest findings are more about change
and protracted market uncertainty – and how small business owners see them as either an opportunity or a threat. As we have seen from our research in
recent years, major events such as the Scottish Referendum, GDPR, and Brexit can create a bigger ripple for large businesses as many either struggle to adapt or move slowly. In contrast, small, nimble counterparts
can react more quickly and seize tangible growth. CCR
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