Small business sales recover after two-year struggle
Jan 24 2011
Sales could finally be on the up
For the first time in two years, there are more small businesses in the UK reporting sales growth than a decline.
Some 37 per cent of companies saw higher sales in the third quarter of 2010 than in the same period in 2009, while 32 per cent report lower sales, giving a positive balance of +5 per cent.
Sales balance has improved in each of the last five surveys, indicating a steady recovery, according to The Open University Business School’s quarterly survey of small businesses in Britain.
Companies in all sectors, apart from small retailers, saw improved sales figures. While the hotels and restaurants sector reported the poorest sales performance in the previous survey (a balance of -30 per cent), it improved dramatically in the third quarter of 2010, although it remains negative at -4 per cent.
Despite improved sales performances, 51 per cent of small businesses are still worried about the economic climate.
The survey of 819 companies points to more erratic growth in headcount, where two thirds of small businesses have not changed the total number of employees in the past year.
Manufacturing was the sector with the highest employment balance at +13 per cent, while employment declined most notably in the North East (-13 per cent), where the majority of small companies also saw lower sales in the third quarter of 2010 than in the same quarter the previous year.
The region where the greatest balance of companies increased both employment (+12 per cent) and investment (+12 per cent) was in the South West of England.
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