Tuyen Osborne, Registry Trust
Tuesday, 13th June 2023
Small and medium businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK economy accounting for 99.9% of all businesses so the performance of SMEs will have a direct impact on the economy we’re operating within. SMEs have recently had to operate under unfavourable conditions such as COVID, elimination of government loan schemes, cost of living crisis, the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, and numerous other financial stressors. Let’s look at the numbers.
In England & Wales, which accounts for 97.4% of judgments in Q1 2023, the number of commercial judgments continued to rise 27% from Q3 2022. Although the average value of these judgments remains relatively unchanged, the total value continues to increase. Our most recent statistics can be found here.
With bank lending to SMEs falling by £14b, plus the aforementioned difficult conditions, there is a worrying lack of support for SMEs. This Credit Connect article reports that companies entering administration have hit a three-year high in March 2023.
Both the private and public sectors have a vested interest in supporting SMEs. The UK economy will be the better for having a robust and resilient SME backbone.