Good growth prospects for smaller businesses
21 Jan 2010
Businesses, and especially small businesses, are looking to the future with renewed optimism as indicators begin to show that 2010 could be a turnaround year. House and share prices have already staged unexpected recoveries and new opportunities for growth are opening up.
This could be good news for everyone as it is small and medium-sized companies that dominate the UK economy and have the potential to help pull us out of recession. Latest official figures show that 99% of all enterprises are small and medium-sized businesses and provide 59.4% of private sector employment and 50.1% of private sector turnover. So it’s the businesses just down the road that could make all the difference.
Surprisingly even in the past couple of years there has been no shortage of entrepreneurs ready to take the plunge and set up their own companies and established businesses have hung in there with many achieving significant growth. So right across the country you will now find determined small and medium-sized companies intent on growth.
Capital Enterprise Centres (CEC) runs a network of Business Centres across London and the South East and reports an encouraging number of new company start-ups as well as the steady expansion of existing companies.
CEC Operations Director David Clapham has been impressed by the enthusiasm of businesses which are making the most of new opportunities. He says: “It’s good to see so much new business activity and across such a wide range of sectors including professional services, leisure, health and recreation, light manufacturing and service industries.
“Companies are very realistic in their ambitions, with their growth plans drawn up in tough times. Change does genuinely bring opportunities and it’s the innovative and flexible enterprises that are doing well.”
CEC says that smaller businesses need to focus all their efforts on business development and believe that this accounts for the popularity of Business Centres, which free up company management from having to deal with time consuming property management issues.
David Clapham adds: “Under pressure businesses prefer not to have to deal with property maintenance or routine but essential matters such as waste disposal and recycling or heating and telecommunications. What we do is set businesses free from worries of this kind with everything covered by a set fee.
“As a bonus offices, studios and workshops can also be taken on a monthly basis under a simple licence with no long term commitment. This gives businesses the chance to keep their options open and to increase or decrease the amount of space taken in line with business requirements.”
CEC believes that for growing companies it is a big plus to be able to expand operations at the same location and say they regularly see new start-ups and small businesses expanding quickly. Often the largest business at a CEC Centre will have originally have moved there as a start-up or small business.