{"id":20090,"date":"2021-09-20T09:49:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T08:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=20090"},"modified":"2021-09-20T09:59:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T08:59:00","slug":"uk-smes-becoming-more-positive-as-certainty-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/uk-smes-becoming-more-positive-as-certainty-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"UK SMEs becoming more positive as certainty returns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As more certainty has returned, the UK\u2019s small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are a great deal more positive about both their own prospects and those of the broader UK economy than they were only 12 months ago, according to the latest data* from Close Brothers Asset Finance<\/a><\/strong>. This is despite ongoing concerns over Brexit and the skills shortages affecting many sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of the 900 respondents are either \u2018far more\u2019 (27.7%) or \u2018marginally\u2019 (38.6%) more positive than they were 12 months ago, while 24% are \u2018the same\u2019, while only 9.8% are less optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth expectations for the final months of 2021, too, were high, with 21% predicting strong performances and 37.4% expecting moderate increases. A third expect to continue to trade at current levels with the remaining firms anticipating some level of contraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investing to stimulate growth was also a key topic – 30.4% say they will be investing heavily in the year ahead; 37.3% in a \u2018limited\u2019 way, and 32.2% will not be investing at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the macroeconomic recovery, business owners are cautious about predicting how long it will take for the economy to return to pre-pandemic levels, with one in five of the opinion it\u2019ll take longer than two years; other responses include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n