Midlands SMEs see 2014 as a year of growth – Yorkshire Bank research

ALMOST all of the Midlands’ small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have plans to invest in growth over the next year, according to new research from Yorkshire Bank.

Conducted as part of the Bank’s Business Week, the survey suggests that 93% of SMEs in the Midlands will invest in growing their business in 2014. UK-wide, the survey suggests that more than 4.5m SMEs (97%) have some plans to invest in growing their business in 2014.

The survey also indicates that rather than looking to maintain the status quo or cutting back, keeping pace with demand was driving investment among Midlands businesses, with 75% citing this as being influential in their decision to invest in growth.

Confidence is another major influence on the decision to invest with 72% of respondents citing optimism as an important factor in their decision making. 43% said there are no barriers at all for them to invest.

SME investment in the next year could also be a significant contributor to the Midlands and UK economic growth, according to the survey’s results. The Yorkshire Bank research indicates that Midlands SMEs plan to invest an average of 12% of turnover on growth. Based on official figures, this could be worth up to £160bn, or £34k per business, to the UK economy.

The top identified investment areas in the Midlands are new equipment and technology (39%), training (34%) and employing new staff (33%).

Brian Colquhoun, Yorkshire Bank’s regional director for the Midlands, said: “These are encouraging results and echo recent official growth figures. 

“They suggest many SMEs in the Midlands are at the point where they feel more certain about investing in their businesses. As the majority of UK companies are small and medium sized businesses, this has to be good for the economy as a whole.”