SMEs losing faith in government support
The Enterprise Index, a quarterly research survey which tests the views of business leaders and entrepreneurs, indicates that businesses are losing confidence in the UK government.
74% of employers went further and claimed that political uncertainty is negatively impacting their business.
Smith & Williamson, an accountancy firm that undertook the research claims businesses lack government support. ‘Businesses are suffering” says Guy Rigby, their head of entrepreneurial services. ‘We were promised a scale-up business agenda, but progress appears to have stalled’.
‘The introduction of a Scale-Up Champion, a Scale-Up Taskforce and the Patient Capital Review were all positive indicators of a government taking business seriously. However, as yet, there have been no meaningful developments,’ adds Rigby.
Some businesses blame Brexit for this ambivalent political environment. Fifty-nine per cent believed that the impact of us leaving the EU will have an impact, and nearly two thirds did not expect the economy to improve over the next 12 months.
With so many businesses relying on their government for support, it is essential that the government itself needs to stabilize. Rigby continues: ‘Our economy has lost confidence, and we need strong leadership and coordinated activity to rebuild’.
Nonetheless Smith & Williamson suggest that domestic support is not the only option for businesses. ‘While the British economy is lagging behind and Sterling remains weak, businesses should explore export markets’ Rigby insists. ‘In addition, businesses should embrace the opportunities that tech has to offer. Big data, AI and the cloud are becoming increasingly accessible to SMEs’. ‘It’s vital that a business looking to scale puts themselves in the best possible shape,’ concludes Rigby.
After all these doubts over support, 62% businesses owners still say they are optimistic about their prospects in the next 12 months and 58% are planning to increase headcount in the next quarter.
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