Small firms’ fears starving UK of billions in investment

SMALLER businesses have lost their confidence to invest since the Budget a year ago — leaving around £60billion of untapped spending potential, according to lender Barclays.

- By Anna Wise

It said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would need to start matching the same investment rate as larger firms to unlock that sum each year in the economy.

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

The banking giant used its own customer data, spanning around a million SMEs and a quarter of UK corporates, and official investment figures for the analysis.

Smaller firms have the appetite to invest in growth but are reluctant to do so because of low levels of confidence, Barclays reported.