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| The mood of small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK has changed dramatically in the past six months, according to the second issue of the Bowmark Entrepreneurs' Index.
The Index is a survey of directors of small to medium-sized businesses in the UK with revenue of between £10m and £100m.
The Optimism Index measuring how positive respondents are about
their own businesses, has dropped nearly 10 points in six months to 66.7,
with an even gloomier mood about their own industries - a near 17 point
decline, and entrepreneurial businesses generally - down almost 13 points;
Key findings
- Government intervention and legislation have overtaken skill shortages as the biggest obstacles to growth. Seventy per cent cited these as a burden,from 56 per cent last time;
- A third of respondents said rising energy prices had a negative impact on their business;
- Around a quarter of companies said the availability and terms of bank debt have worsened in the past six months.
- Fewer companies are planning acquisitions - only a third plan to buy a business in the year ahead, down from 43 per cent six months ago, as the chart shows. Instead they are looking to grow their businesses organically.
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