Advice Small Business

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain cautious over claims that there are ‘green shoots’ of economic recovery.

The latest Nottingham University Business School Barometer shows that 44 per cent of small firms opted to reserve judgement on whether the business climate was improving and 34 per cent have seen growth remain static since January.

In addition, poor access to finance is still viewed as being the major obstacle to recovery, as two-thirds of companies say that credit conditions have not improved over the last three months, with 24 per cent saying they have worsened. Only eight per cent said access has become easier.

One respondent comments: ‘Banks are being particularly difficult to deal with and not helping the situation.’

The barometer also shows that some small firms’ cash flow is being squeezed by falling revenues, with 27 per cent feeling compelled to cut prices to maintain their customer base.

However, eight per cent say their costs are being eased by falling prices from suppliers.

In a recent Federation of Small Businesses survey, 23 per cent of respondents said they have seen an increase in trade since the start of the year, an improvement on the 16 per cent in February.

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Northern Ireland has unveiled an £8 million package of initiatives to support start-ups and early-stage businesses.

Finance minister Sammy Wilson says that the Northern Ireland Spin Outs scheme’s ability to fund innovation in small firms and build a strong enterprise culture is essential for economic recovery.

Wilson comments: ‘Our universities and local companies have demonstrated that they can provide world-class research. Government must seek to help companies convert this research into commercial applications which can in turn help to build world-class companies.’

The package will include a £5 million venture capital fund which will offer investments of between £50,000 and £250,000 to start-ups and early-stage companies that can demonstrate potential for high growth levels, while a separate £3 million fund will provide financing to non-university enterprises.

This week, prime minister Gordon Brown unveiled a venture capital fund to support technology-based start-ups and small businesses, with the aim of raising £1 billion in finance over the next ten years.

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The level of redundancies is set to remain high over the second half of 2009, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) claims.

According to the organisation’s RedundancyWatch project, the proportion of firms contacting the CIPD legal helpline for advice on how to lay off staff declined slightly from 19 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 to 18 per cent in the second.

The group claims this indicates a steady rate of redundancies can be expected in the coming months, saying this effect has been experienced previously.

Dr John Philpott, CIPD chief economist and public policy director, told the group’s annual employment law conference: ‘Our CIPD helpline data offers little comfort that there will be any significant let up in the redundancy rate in the next few months.’

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that UK unemployment has reached a 12-year high of more than 2.2 million.

Commenting, the Confederation of British Industry predicted that unemployment will hit three million in early 2010.

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Small companies in London are being offered free language and cultural skills training to help them capitalise on opportunities created by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

According to the London Development Agency (LDA), the scheme will be of particular benefit to businesses which provide frontline services, such as those in the tourism, transport, retail, hospitality and leisure industries.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, comments: ‘The training opportunities we are extending will be invaluable to all those businesses who are serious about taking on the overseas competition.’

The Regional Language Network London initiative will offer companies two courses, one which focuses on key phrases and cultural issues that workers need to be aware of and another which supports managers leading multicultural teams.

Geoff Newton, director of Olympic opportunities at the LDA, explains that the scheme is designed to ensure London firms have more chance of benefiting from the 2012 Games and encourage international visitors to return to the capital.

Earlier this year, the LDA highlighted the specialist training support which is being offered in the capital to help construction companies make the most of opportunities arising ahead of the 2012 Games.

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