It may have been a long time
coming but the latest economic indicators certainly suggest that there are
genuine green shoots and the start of a recovery.
We have seen GDP grow in the
first two quarters of 2013, reduced unemployment, rising house prices,
increased new car sales and even a sense of optimism replacing the gloom and
doom of national commentators!
People seem to be generally happier
this year buoyed by the sunny summer, royal baby and the continued British
sporting success following on from the Olympics in 2012. Victories for Justin
Rose, The Lions, Andy Murray, Chris Frome and England’s cricketers thrashing
the Australians have certainly added to the feel good factor; even England’s
much maligned footballers got in on the act beating Scotland, but tougher
challenges lie ahead for them!
So how is the perceived economic
recovery affecting small businesses, who are the life blood of the UK economy?
Well as a small business owner myself, I can say that there certainly appear to
be more opportunities presenting themselves, although the market place remains
very competitive.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had
a number of conversations with professional advisors from banks, lawyers and
accountants and there is a general consensus that a lot of the companies they
look after are now hoping to move their businesses forward, and away from the
survival mode they’ve been in for the last few years.
However, expansion and growth
gives fresh challenges to businesses, as history tells us that more businesses
start going bust as we leave a recession because it’s easy to overtrade and run
out of cash. This emphasises the need to have good solid operational and
financial controls and procedures in place, making sure that any growth is
controlled and any cash requirements flagged up well in advance.
So what do the next few years
hold in store for UK plc? The announcement from the Bank of England that
interest rates are going to be kept at a low rate for the foreseeable future
gives a great sense of security for business. Hopefully this, allied to the
improved economic figures, will give businesses more confidence to start
spending money on projects they have put on hold, which will then filter
through to the SME market and help boost the economy further.
It has certainly been a long hard
road to recovery but I remain optimistic that the current signs show a recovery
is underway. A nice steady upwards growth curve over the next few years for UK
plc will do nicely, thank you very much!
Colin Spencer
Chairman
Image courtesy of thanunkorn
/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net