Almost half of SMEs predict increase for sales and orders in 2013

Almost half of the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) believe their sales and orders will pick-up next year, according to a new survey.

The Co-operative Bank’s poll of more than 500 SMEs found that companies in the South of England were most confident of growth in 2013, especially those belonging to professional services, marketing and advertising sectors.

Money.aol.co.uk reports that over half of all SMEs envisaged increased in business – much higher than the one in five who predicted a fall. Rather unsurprisingly, the biggest worry of those cautious about their prospects was economic uncertainty.

Still, the important news for entrepreneurs looking to start a franchise or their own business is that in such a tough economical climate, most SMEs seem to be looking ahead with a cautious sense of optimism.

Reflecting on the results at ft.com, Keith Alderson, managing director of corporate and business banking at the Co-operative Bank, said: “We see this entrepreneurial spirit day in, day out in our dealings with customers and I’m not surprised that SMEs are adapting and exploring new markets to overcome the economic challenges.

“SMEs and entrepreneurs are widely acknowledged as vital to Britain’s economic recovery, so these results are good news as we head into 2013.”