London SMEs 'focus on growth'
May 08 2009
The majority of London's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are concentrating on growth through the recession.
A poll of more than 3,200 small firms in the capital, carried out by Business Link, shows 60 per cent intend to grow over the coming year, despite almost three-quarters admitting that they have been affected by the downturn.
Patrick Elliott, chief executive of Business Link in London, comments: 'There's a great deal of optimism in the face of the recession, with the majority of SMEs remaining committed to growth.'
He also points out that the findings back up earlier polls by the group, which discovered 42 per cent of small firms are looking to exploit new business opportunities and 17 per cent are developing new products and services to increase their market share.
Boris Johnson, mayor of London, adds that SMEs are 'critical' to the success of the capital and says it is 'heartening' to discover that the majority of them are intending to grow,
The recent Eurozone Business Trends report by accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward suggested that optimism is returning to UK companies, with the group's confidence index rising from 89.9 points in January to 91.2 last month.