SMEs have increased their growth projections, report shows

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK have increased their growth projections, according to a report from Capital Economics for Amazon and entrepreneur network Enterprise Nation.

The report showed that the UK’s SMEs are now predicting a 2.3 per cent growth in revenue in the next 12 months, with small businesses in the financial services sector being found to be the most positive, predicting a growth of 3.1 per cent over the next year.

Confidence

The report also found that there has been a boost in small business confidence, increasing to a score of three points in the first quarter of 2017 from minus four in the fourth quarter of last year.

Whilst small businesses were found to be concerned about the national economy, businesses in certain sectors are still forecasting strong revenue growth. Hospitality and transport SMEs were close behind businesses in the financial services sector for predicting strong revenue growth at 2.7 per cent, followed by health and education businesses, which forecast a growth of 2.6 per cent.

Resilience

Amazon UK Director of Seller Services, Simon Johnson, said that the report demonstrates a rebound in confidence amongst SMEs in Britain after a significant decline in December.

Enterprise Nation Founder, Emma Jones, also commented on the report, stating that Britain’s SME community is continuing to demonstrate resilience in uncertain times, but the Government has to take heed of growing concerns about the negative impact of increasing supply costs on small businesses.