UK businesses plan to invest despite the gloomy economy
UK small businesses are preparing to invest again next year after adapting to the ‘new normal’ of a gloomy economy treading water, a survey of 200 chief executives revealed yesterday.
Just 13 per cent of those polled said they planned to cut investment next year, with the remainder saying they were prepared to maintain or increase levels of investment.
This was despite almost two-thirds believing the economy is still bumping along the bottom, moving neither in the right or wrong direction.
The survey of 208 chief executive and finance directors from the Numis Smaller Companies Index, undertaken by Numis Corporation in collaboration with the London Stock Exchange, reveals the stoic face of UK small businesses, which will invest despite the gloom.
Meanwhile, six in ten respondents said they expected their access to capital to remain the same this year, but a further third said they thought it would improve.
Most firms are also starting to access financing for more positive reasons such as new investments and business acquisitions. Just 14 per cent said they wanted to access capital for debt refinancing and only one per cent identified debt repayment as a reason.