Small Businesses Report Sales Growth For First Time In Two Years

For the first time in two years, there are more small businesses in the UK reporting sales growth than a decline.

Some 37% of companies saw higher sales in the third quarter of 2010 than in the same period in 2009, while 32% report lower sales, giving a positive balance of +5%.

Sales balance has improved in each of the last five surveys, indicating a steady recovery, according to The Open University Business School’s quarterly survey of small businesses in Britain.

Companies in all sectors, apart from small retailers, saw improved sales figures. While the hotels and restaurants sector reported the poorest sales performance in the previous survey (a balance of -30%), it improved dramatically in the third quarter of 2010, although it remains negative at -4%.

Despite improved sales performances, 51% of small businesses are still worried about the economic climate. The survey of 819 companies points to more erratic growth in headcount, where two-thirds of small businesses have not changed the total number of employees in the past year.

Manufacturing was the sector with the highest employment balance at +13%, while employment declined most notably in the North East (-13%), where the majority of small companies also saw lower sales in the third quarter of 2010 than in the same quarter the previous year.

The region where the greatest balance of companies increased both employment (+12%) and investment (+12 per cent) was in the Southwest of England.

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