Untapped spending potential in the billions

SMALL British businesses are reluctant to invest due to a lack of confidence in the economy and fears of further tax hikes, leaving billions of pounds of untapped spending potential, Barclays has said.

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If small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) invested at the same rates as larger firms, around £60 billion of new investment could be unlocked per year in the UK economy, according to estimates by the bank.

Business investment refers to spending on assets like buildings, machinery and intellectual property.