Leading UK SMEs continue to experience growth against backdrop of economic uncertainty. Image courtesy of: Christian Carollo/sxc.hu
New research has revealed that five percent of the UK SME population account for two thirds of private sector employment, suggesting that high growth
small businesses are playing a key role in the recovery of the UK economy.
In the “
Breakthrough Growth Champions Report” from
Santander, leading SMEs were shown to have created approximately 173,000 jobs highlighting resilience despite the recession, in contrast to other businesses of a similar size which were shown to have been responsible for the redundancy of more than 400,000 individuals.
The report claimed that the probability of achieving growth was indicated by these statistics, rather being industry or geographically specific.
It also identified the most important characteristics linked to growth, listing traits such as strong teamwork and relationships as well as high levels of ambition. Additionally, it underlined the need for small businesses to take a proactive approach to
cash and credit management.
Head of Santander’s Breakthrough programme, John Williams commented: “This research shows a small group of businesses make an extraordinary contribution to the UK economy."
"Banks have a responsibility to support businesses to accelerate growth at all stages of their lifecycle.”
“Using the common characteristics exhibited by Growth Champions, we can identify the fast-growth businesses of the future and provide the support they need to help them fulfil their potential.”
Williams concluded: “The most successful business came from across a number of sectors, including social work, complementary medicine and engineering, and were spread evenly across the whole of the UK.”