Northern companies fare better
Article Date: Aug 27 2008The economic downturn is affecting 58 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, according to research from payment scheme Bacs. However, businesses in the North are faring better, or just more bullish, with 45 per cent saying the downturn has had no effect on their business compared with 36 per cent in the South.
Of the businesses across the UK that say they are affected, 37 per cent say that projects are taking longer to come to fruition, while the same number report that they have cut spending on business travel.
Other signs of the downturn are late payments from customers (experienced by 30 per cent of respondents) and having to spend more time chasing payments (28 per cent). Late payments are a greater problem for businesses in the South and the Midlands, with 35 and 32 per cent of companies noting that payments were coming in later, compared to 21 per cent in the North.
The survey was carried out in June with 453 SMEs interviewed and the data weighted to the profile of UK SMEs.
In May, a survey from GrowthBusiness.co.uk found that 52 per cent of companies had been affected by the downturn.
