Will private business drive the UK forward?

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Enterprising UK Survey 2009, 75% of privately-owned companies in the UK think that the worst of the recession is behind them, and two thirds expect their businesses to do better in the next couple of years.

This third national survey of private businesses is part of our long-standing commitment to this sector. Building on our findings from 2006 and 2007, this research tracks perceptions of the tax regime in the UK, and also investigated what businesses are doing to manage through the recent economic uncertainty, enabling companies to come out fighting fit as the economy moves into an upturn.

There are two reports available, Enterprising UK: Will private business drive the UK forward? focuses on the operational issues facing private businesses, what companies are doing to stay ahead in the current economic conditions, and opinion from private business specialists.

Enterprising UK: A voice for private business? uncovers how these companies perceive the UK tax regime and it’s support of enterprise and growth.

Key findings:

• Growing optimism and confidence for the future, with more than two thirds of privately-owned companies expecting that their businesses will do better in the next two years.
• Private companies are seizing the opportunities offered by the recession to help themselves. The vast majority have updated their strategic plans within the last year, with half doing so in the last three months.
• Private businesses are starting to switch from cost cutting to a focus on their customers, products and services, with better targeting of customers cited most frequently as their highest priority strategy over the next year.
• A third of these companies have had their business plans compromised by a lack of access to financing.
• While almost nine in ten privately-owned companies have identified the key people in their organisation, only six in ten are confident they have aligned their business strategy and their talent management strategy.
• Only a third of private businesses believe the UK tax regime supports and encourages enterprise, despite the wide range of tax reliefs available and the measures introduced in the 2009 Budget.