UK small businesses see their highest level of income since 2007 – Barclays

THE income of small businesses at the end of 2013 was at its highest since before the start of the 2008-2009 recession, research from Barclays Business Banking has revealed.

Data on the total quarterly income for current accounts of Barclays’ small business customers also showed that the annual growth rate in Q4 2013 was the strongest since before the turn of the century, up 17% from Q1 2000.

In Q4 2013, income levels for Barclays’ small business customers were 3.4% above their pre-recession peak (Q2 2007). The low point for income in the intervening period was during Q2 2009 when it was 16% below the level two years before.

The analysis also reveals the top three performing small business industry sectors4 during the recession and subsequent recovery. The education sector experienced a 41% increase in income levels, followed by health (28%) and professional services (23%).

Neil Fewtrell, head of relationship banking in the central region for Barclays Business Banking, said: “The strength of income growth among our customers in 2013 shows just how significant last year was in marking a sustained recovery in the wider small business population.

“Along with recent GDP data this indicates the UK economy is starting to put its more difficult years behind it, painting a promising picture for 2014 with confidence returning to the small business market.

“UK SMEs are slowly but surely stepping out of the post-recession struggle and, as our findings show, there is light at the end of the tunnel for these businesses that are so essential to our economic prospects.”