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UK SMBS UNLEASHING UNPRECEDENTED OPTIMISM FOR 2023
Sage ’ s annual survey of almost 12,000 business leaders globally – Small Business , Big Opportunity – finds that despite a challenging 2022 , where rising costs and pressures on revenue and cash flow impacted profitability , UK small- and mid-sized businesses ( SMBs ) are significantly more optimistic about their prospects than this time last year .
Adoption of technology is critical to business confidence , but UK SMBs may suffer from low investment commitments
The findings reveal that UK SMBs feel the most confident of any surveyed country about their business success , with 40 % predicting that they will feel ‘ very confident ’ about the success of their business at the end of 2023 compared to 34 % globally . Over a fifth ( 22 %) expect a decrease in their costs , while 46 % of UK SMBs expect an increase in revenue , with close to half ( 49 %) expecting to increase their workforce .
Technology is seen as a key factor in future success , with 92 % planning to maintain or increase their tech investment , and UK SMBs also more likely to adopt
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TO SUPPORT SMBS AND DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE UK , THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO TAKE A BOLDER APPROACH TOWARDS TAX , TO INCENTIVISE DIGITAL INVESTMENT .
emerging technologies than any other country , such as 5G ( 28 %), AI ( 16 %) and the METAVERSE ( 16 %) over the next three years .
However , UK SMBs anticipate increasing their technology investment by only 13 %, below the European average of 18 %, citing a lack of budget and difficulty in understanding the best tech options as the top barriers . Access to talent also remains a critical concern , with over a third of UK SMBs ( 39 %) being not satisfied with their ability to recruit talent .
Driving resilience through increased productivity
In 2022 , high costs have presented a significant barrier for many UK SMBs , with 40 % reporting a cost increase of over 10 %. However , UK SMBs report working more efficiently to overcome challenges ; over three-quarters report being satisfied with current productivity levels and 28 % report that this helped them overcome barriers in 2022 .
Sage Group CEO , Steve Hare , said : “ SMBs are the backbone of the UK economy and too commonly overlooked . They have emerged resilient from a difficult 2022 and have ambitious goals of scaling their businesses . The government and the private sector must now work together to make this possible .
“ The government has rightly set out an ambitious vision for the digitalisation of the UK economy . We see strong appetite among SMBs for an acceleration of investment and adoption of new tech solutions , but the UK lags behind in the level of tech investment they anticipate committing .
“ To support SMBs and drive economic growth in the UK , the government needs to take a bolder approach towards tax , to incentivise digital investment . This is essential for millions of SMBs to have the resources they need to compete on a global scale and to make the UK an advanced digital economy .” �
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