A large number of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are hoping to expand this year, while others are anticipating a boost in business revenues.
According to a new survey of more than 1,000 SME decision makers, three quarters (75 per cent) of business owners are confident that their business growth plans will come to fruition this year, thanks to improvements in SME funding options.
In comparison, this time two years ago, only 63 per cent of SMEs felt that they would be able to access the funding they need in order to grow their business.
The survey, which was carried out by Aldermore Bank, also reveals that businesses are now more confident about revenue growth, with more than half (42 per cent) expecting to see a significant increase in revenues this year.
50 per cent of firms said that they would achieve this by increasing marketing activity, while 39 per cent said that they would drive growth by launching new products and services.
Meanwhile, 33 per cent said that they were more interested in targeting and entering into new markets.
Carl D’Ammassa, of Aldermore Bank, said that it was “encouraging” to see that business optimism was on the rise.
“Planning can be a difficult task, but to ensure ongoing success, every business owner needs to have a vision for growth and an understanding of how they would like to get there,” he said.
