The issue of Brexit is at the forefront of business owners’ minds as the Government begins Brexit negotiations a new survey which examined the attitudes and hopes post Brexit has found.
However there is good news to Brexit Secretary David Davis as SMEs are confident about the potential growth of their businesses, with over half expecting to grow with less than 10 per cent expecting to downsize over the next two to three years.
The research also found that every business surveyed has experienced at least one legal issue in the past 12 months. Unsurprisingly, legal matters were flagged as one of the top issues facing businesses today. In fact, large SMEs faced on average at least 2 legal issues in the past year alone.
The top legal issues that businesses encountered include; chasing payments from customers or debt from business partners, followed by tax issues, business contracts and pensions.
The research shows that businesses that have a legal expenses insurance policy (LEI) place more importance on legal issues and businesses that do this tend to be more optimistic about growth. Also, while 3 out of 4 SMEs surveyed are aware of LEI, only 1 in 3 actually have a policy.
James Henderson, Managing Director Insurance – UK & Ireland, DAS UK Group, whose SME Market Barometer the research findings come from, said: “It was interesting to note the level of business confidence amongst SME’s despite the economic uncertainties surrounding Brexit and what any deal will look like. With the seemingly every-present business risk of having to tackle legal issues, we hope that the peace of mind being given to our customers will enable SME’s to turn their optimistic outlooks to balance sheet reality.”
“Our SME market barometer disproves the perceived wisdom that legal insurance only benefits large companies. With every SME surveyed reporting at least one legal challenge to their business in the last twelve months, the value legal expenses insurance could provide is evident. SMEs are a key part of our customer base and the insight provided by the barometer will helps us develop and expand our products to better meet their needs.
