GE Capital: UK SMBs at breaking point

Research from finance house shows 16 per cent of SMBs are on the breadline

One in six UK SMBs are on the breadline, according to the latest figures from GE Capital.

The finance specialist commissioned an independent market research company – The Survey Shop – to interview 500 owner/managers of UK-based SMBs.

The firm’s report used its findings to calculate that almost 28,000 of the UK’s SMBs would struggle to survive if they faced any immediate or unforeseen situations as they only have a "minimum amount of cash" to cover emergencies.

In addition, only 24 per cent of respondents believe they have enough cash to be in a "healthy position".

The South West and the North West are two regions that seem to be struggling the most with cashflow, GE Capital claimed, with a fifth of respondents describing their existence as "precarious".

Two of the worst-hit sectors were transport and IT & telecoms, with 27 per cent of SMB transport firms and 20 per cent of IT & telecoms firms revealing they have sufficient cash to provide a buffer.

John Jenkins, chief executive of GE Capital, said: “With so many businesses under pressure due to increased competition, a decline in customer spend and increasing costs of raw materials, it is worrying that so many are not in a position to deal with an emergency should it arise.”