The most recent survey evidence suggests that the profile of growth achieved by the UK’s SME population has remained broadly stable since 2015. In 2017, 36 per cent of SME employers reported turnover growth in the Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS), with 19 per cent of firms reporting a fall1. These proportions were broadly similar to those in 2015 and 2016.
Expectations of growth also remain broadly stable, with 47 per cent of LSBS respondents expecting turnover to increase during 2018. Evidence from the same survey also provides some welcome news about SME exporting with the proportion of exporting firms rising 2pp between 2016 and 2017.
