Business Advice for all UK firms from starting a business to flotation
SME growth optimism for 2013
Figures released this week show English manufacturing SMEs are optimistic
for growth in 2013, reinforcing recent economic forecasts predicting an upturn
in the sector.
The latest Manufacturing Advisory
Service (MAS) Barometer reveals that 43% of companies questioned have seen an
increase in their order books over the past six months (+4% on the previous
survey), with a massive 62% expecting sales turnover to grow between now and
June 2013.
The predicted expansion is
backed up by the number of firms expecting to take on staff (up 7% to 39%) and
those investing in new premises and machinery (up 3% to 44%).
In line with the economic
dip seen in the last quarter, slightly fewer companies (43%) have reported an
increase in sales turnover from the previous six months.
Tellingly, 45% of
manufacturers cited the availability of specific skills as a barrier to growth,
whilst time appears to be the ‘new gold’ for management teams, with 27%
admitting they do not have enough capacity to ‘work on’ their businesses as
they are too busy firefighting or dealing with everyday management issues.
Post Date: February 28th, 2013