Twice a year we ask business leaders across the country to share their aspirations for the next six months and track business confidence.
Our latest Owner Managed Business (OMB) survey carried out in March 2023 looks at these consistent measures as well as new issues affecting UK businesses today.
Our latest survey findings show that 67% of OMB's surveyed are highly or fairly confident about the general outlook for the year ahead, but whilst it seems that OMB's are gradually recovering from the economic fallout caused by the pandemic, many businesses are still struggling to remain profitable, with smaller OMB's being hit hardest. A major reason for profitability struggles is the sharp rise in business costs with 40% of OMB's saying that this is going to pose a significant business challenge this year, with rising interest rates and inflation also causing concern. For smaller businesses (those with turnover below £1m per annum), cash-flow and liquidity is becoming more of a problem.
Read more in our report here