Our latest Owner Managed Business (OMB) survey looked at the impact of the pandemic on businesses across the UK. Although business confidence remains low, we are starting to see positive signs of improvement and recovery amongst Owner Managed Businesses, with many optimistic about a better performance in 2021, and a growing number looking to increase their headcount in the coming months.
OWNER MANAGED BUSINESS CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW, BUT IS IMPROVING
Overall, business confidence remains low, with only 1 in 5 business owners feeling highly confident about meeting their profit and revenue targets this year. On a positive note, there has been an improvement in business confidence following on from February’s nadir, when just over 10% of respondents felt highly confident about meeting targets.
As with the previous survey, smaller businesses (those with turnover up to £1m) remain noticeably less confident than larger ones. 43% of businesses with turnover of less then £1m reported low confidence, compared to 33% of businesses with turnover between £1m and £30m.
There is still considerable uncertainty about the future and it is clear that any change to the Government’s roadmap out of the pandemic would have a detrimental impact on OMBs.
Fewer than half of businesses (44%) feel that the current government roadmap for easing COVID restrictions gives them the confidence needed to plan their business effectively over the next 12 months, and almost 4 out 5 business owners said that a 4
th national lockdown would have a significant negative impact on their business.
You can read the full report
here.
To gather the data for this report we surveyed 455 businesses with turnover between £85k and £30m and up to 249 employees in July 2021. Businesses were selected from across all sectors throughout the UK.