Almost 100% of OMBs across the South Coast say rising costs are impacting profitability with inflation still out of control
- Only 22% of small businesses confident in Government to deliver economic growth
- More than half of businesses surveyed in the South do not plan to increase staff salaries in the next 3 months
96% of OMBs on the South Coast say that rising costs are impacting their profitability – but almost half say that rising interest rates are their biggest challenge in the next three months, in the latest Owner Managed Business (OMB) survey by Moore UK, the Top 10 accountancy network.
With UK inflation having hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in mid-November, businesses are increasingly struggling against a rising tide of costs. By far the biggest problem when looking at business costs for OMBs in the South, is the increasing cost of energy and utilities, with 47% of them saying it is the issue they are most concerned about, andfuel prices a close second followed by corporation tax.
Sue Lucas, Chair of Moore (South), says: “With inflation still rising, OMBs are under a huge amount of pressure. The cost of energy is a major pain point for virtually every business. For some it is going to test their ability to survive.”
"The Autumn Statement didn’t provide the good news that they were looking for – it's going to be a long winter for a lot of smaller businesses.”
Only 22% of OMBs confident in Government to deliver economic growth in 2023
Moore’s quarterly survey of owner-managed businesses shows that only 22% of OMBs are confident in the new Government’s ability to deliver economic growth in 2023. Moore UK’s November survey was completed after Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister.
With the UK economy sliding into recession amid political instability in the second half of 2022, many small business owners appear not to believe that the current Government will be able to return the economy to growth next year.
Says Sue Lucas: “The changes of government over recent months seem to have dented small businesses’ confidence. The majority of them don’t believe we’re going to see economic growth in 2023 under the present leadership.”
“Obviously it is early days for the new Government but as yet OMBs are not confident that growth can be delivered in the near term.”
More than half of businesses surveyed on the South Coast do not plan to increase pay or salaries to staff in next three months
Moore’s survey shows that 54% of businesses polled are not planning to increase pay for their team in the next three months and only 15% of those surveyed have given pay rises out in the last three months, with the majority of businesses providing free drinks meals or snacks as an alternative to help their team through the cost of living crisis.
Says Sue Lucas: “Recruitment and retention of people is still a key challenge for a lot of owner-managed businesses. Any support that can be put in place for employees to help them financially is likely to be well received."