No Olympic legacy for SMEs, says RSM Tenon report

RESEARCH carried out by accountancy firm RSM Tenon says that 80% of SMEs in the West Midlands don’t think the Olympics will have any positive lasting impact.

The firm’s business barometer, a quarterly survey carried out by YouGov, quizzed senior management in small and medium-sized enterprises and found that, despite Team GB’s success in the Games, there is little optimism that there will be a positive knock-on effect in business terms.

Peter Whitehead, managing director at RSM Tenon’s Birmingham office, said: “The Olympic Games were expected to provide a welcome boost for SMEs following the recent problems many have encountered with the downturn in the economy. But this doesn’t seem to be the reality.

“Only 1% of businesses in the region said that they think the Olympics will have a positive long-term impact on them.

“This is seriously outweighed by 80% that said it will have no long-term impact on them, and a staggering 14% that said it will have a long-term negative impact on them. 

“It was always going to be difficult for SMEs to know if the Olympics would produce any lasting effect for their business.”