News & Media

The new research findings from the quarterly Business Barometer by Hitachi Capital Business Finance reveal that the percentage of small business owners predicting growth has soared from 26% to 36% since January – the highest quarter-on-quarter rise for four years.

More than three fifths (62%) of people who originally voted to remain in the EU believe there will be favourable outcomes for British businesses following the UK’s decision to leave Europe - according to new consumer research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

Following the Government’s announcement that the UK Job Retention Scheme is to be extended to the end of September, new research has revealed that more than one in 10 (12%) SMEs would have been at risk of closure had the scheme ended in April.

Nationally, 83% of small firms say they have a fresh set of goals in place to secure the growth for the year ahead, according to new Business Barometer research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

Three in five bosses have planned COVID-friendly Christmas work events for their staff, according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance, but the kind of Christmas bash you have is dependent on the psychological profile of your boss.

Three in five bosses (60%) say that the pandemic has positively impacted the productivity of their workforce, according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance, with one in five saying their staff are now more independent since working from home (20%).

Following a concentrated period of uncertainty, new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance found a significant proportion of small businesses are considering finance to enact their plans for 2021, as confidence gradually returns

As the Brexit transition period comes to an end, new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance has found businesses were twice as likely to be concerned about the impact of COVID on their business as they were about the impact of Brexit.

For the first time this year, small business confidence has held firm from one quarter to the next. The day after the Government announced its three-tier Covid restrictions, new research suggests the avoidance of a second national lockdown and certainty of direction until March has had a positive impact on UK small business confidence.

Motivating staff and maintaining a happy workforce is now a top priority for more than one in two small business owners (55%) – rising to 60% among younger bosses (those aged under 35) - according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

More than four in five small business owners (81%) have made key changes to their business and services in order to prepare for the economic uncertainty in the months ahead, according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

Less than one in two UK small business owners expect to have made staff redundant by the end of the year (46%), as the nation’s traditional family businesses emerge as those fighting the hardest to protect their workforce – according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

New research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance reveals a big rise in the proportion of small businesses that plan to keep costs down (61%), improve cash flow (32%) and get stricter on late payment (27%) in order to achieve growth in the final months of the year.

The proportion of UK small businesses predicting growth has almost doubled in just three months – from 14% to 27% – giving one of the first tangible indications that the Government’s easing of lockdown is having a positive impact on a key area of the UK economy.

Legal retirement age is just a number for most business owners and entrepreneurs, particularly those closest to it, according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.