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survey commissioned by Santander UKfound that 92% of exporting SMEs were confident about their growth prospects over the next five years, compared to only 47% of SMEs that do not export.
52% of SMEs that had grown in the last year actively sought out international clients.
Marcelino Castrillo, Head of SME at
SantanderCorporate and Commercial, said:
“This research once again shows how important breaking into new export markets can be for delivering business growth.
“Banks can play an important role in encouraging SMEs to export by providing the right products to manage financial risk, and by helping customers to understand where opportunities might lie.
“For instance, the Santander Breakthrough programme provides trade missions to fast-growth SMEs to help them establish local networks in potential export markets.”
Business performance over the last 12 months was also stronger for exporting SMEs.
Of the companies surveyed, 52% that had grown significantly in the last year also said they had actively sought new international clients.
By comparison, 89% of SMEs that shrank significantly in the last 12 months have never traded internationally.
The survey found that 20% of SMEs actively seek out international clients, while a further 8% said that they were considering exports.
However, 59% of respondents said they had never traded internationally and have no plans to do so.
The survey of 250 businesses was conducted by Dods.
Understanding how to unlock the growth potential of SMEs will be
discussed at policy workshopsduring the Labour Party Conference in Brighton (23 September) and the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester (30 September). These follow a successful policy workshop held in Glasgow on Monday 16 September with local SMEs and business organisations.
If you are interested in becoming involved in the workshops, please contact
Ralph.Buckle@dods.co.uk
The final report, entitled Growth Britain: Unlocking the potential of our SMEs, will be published in November.