SMEs plan a £1.7bn Brexit boost

UK businesses are planning a £1.7 billion investment boost over the next two years as Brexit uncertainty ends, a new survey has revealed.

Plans to expand premises and employ more staff top the agenda for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the results of the study by finance specialist Together.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of owners and senior executives at SMEs – the equivalent of 1.6 million businesses – plan to move premises as apprehension over the UK’s departure from the European Union ebbs away.

Meanwhile 23 per cent of companies who took part in the survey said they plan to expand their workforce in the next two years.

The survey results were published after the EU withdrawal bill was voted through the Commons this month, with just The House of Lords left to navigate before the UK leaves the EU on January 31st.

Andrew Charnley, Head of Corporate Relationships at Together said “The investment taps can now be turned back on with UK SMEs expecting to pump more than £1.7billion into the national economy. Our survey has identified major commitments in the North and Midlands in particular where firms plan to spend more than a third of the cash.”

“However, they will need support from lenders who do not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach and are willing to look at proposals in the round including focusing on business prospects and regional differences.”

Nearly one in five (18 per cent) firms plan to upgrade and refurbish their existing premises while 12 per cent expect to buy new buildings and seven per cent will build their own property, the study revealed.

Those SMEs planning investment said they expected to spend an average of nearly £370,000 each on as the end of uncertainty enables them to plan for the future.

Businesses in Yorkshire and The Humber and those in the South East are expecting to invest the most – nearly £450,000 on average. Businesses in London are planning to invest an average £420,000, according to the survey results.

About a fifth of SMEs (21 per cent) say they had postponed plans to move premises because of Brexit uncertainty while 23 per cent had delayed pay rises for workers and 19 per cent had deferred plans to take on more staff.

However, the decisive general election result means 42 per cent of firms are now optimistic about their prospects compared to just eight per cent who would have been optimistic if the uncertainty had continued. Not all businesses agree – two out of five say the departure from the EU makes no difference.

More than half (54 per cent) of SMEs questioned had initially been pessimistic, saying that Brexit uncertainty had been holding back their businesses. That figure has now dropped to just 18 per cent since the election result.

Regionally, firms in the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber had been had beenthe most downbeat with 67 per cent and 66 per cent worried about the future. However, the election seems to have brought renewed optimism with 53 per cent and 47 per cent respectively saying they are more upbeat.

The table below shows the picture across the UK and how Brexit uncertainty has affected SMEs and the impact of the end of uncertainty on business optimism.