Small firms in the North eye growth despite economic downturn
Half of all small and medium businesses in the North are expected to grow in 2008, a new survey claimed today.
Nearly a third of small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) polled said their main concern was competition from competitor products.
According to a nationwide survey carried out by Small Business Finance Barometer half of SMEs polled in Northern Ireland expected their business to expand this year.
SMEs are companies who have less than 50 (small) or less than 250 employees (medium) working for them. Nearly 80% of all businesses in Northern Ireland fall into this category.
Harry Parkinson, Managing Director of Close Invoice Finance in Ireland, said: “I’m broadly encouraged by SME’s dogged determination to keep their expansion plans on track despite the gloomy economic outlook.
“But with banks getting tougher on the growing credit they extend to growing businesses, many SMEs will need to look outside traditional finance routes if there are to keep their growth plans on track.”
Economy Minister Nigel Dodds said: “Northern Ireland’s small business sector is hugely important to the local economy. It is vital that we explore new ways to develop smaller enterprises as they are fundamental to Northern Ireland’s growth.
“One of our targets is to grow local businesses, through Invest NI support, by helping 600 existing local companies to become exporters for the first time by 2011.”
Throughout the UK, 56% of SMEs polled expected their businesses to expand and only 6% believed that their business would close down over the next 12 months.
Nearly half (27%) of all UK SMEs reported that bank loans were their primary source of investment.
The survey polled 195 companies in UK and the North.
