Aviva Plc: Business owners come under pressure; consider packing it all in |
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| Economy | |
| Written by Gary Howes | |
| Tuesday, 24 January 2012 | |
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Latest Aviva SME Pulse reveals one in four SME owners are considering returning to the workforce as an employee.
Aviva plc (LON:AV) have this morning released information showing the pressure that UK small business owners are under. 26% of SME owners admit they no longer enjoy running their business, 32% stating that they have lost the enthusiasm they had when they started their venture up. And as a result, the SME Pulse also reveals that 25% of SME owners are considering returning to the workforce as an employee. A reduction in the money they take out of their own businesses for personal use may be a contributing factor: 50% surveyed have reduced the money they draw, over the past 2 years, with restaurant owners suffering the biggest fall. 73% of those with businesses in the catering sector have seen a marked decline in the amount they withdraw from their business - with 29% reporting a drop of between 20-25% and 10% reporting a drop of up to 50%. Aviva’s SME Pulse continues to track economic sentiment among business owners and the survey reveals that SMEs experienced a tough end to 2011. 43% said 2011 was tougher than expected, an increase since June 2011 when 37% expressed this opinion. This sentiment was particularly prevalent among independent retailers and shop keepers with 50% saying 2011 was tougher than expected; the highest of any other business type surveyed. Looking to 2012, there appears to be little improvement in sentiment. David Bruce, commercial product manager at Aviva, comments: “The mood continues to be down-beat about the economy as 2012 begins. Businesses are struggling against a backdrop of consumers spending cuts and many don’t envisage an improvement to the situation in the next six months. “In addition, half of the SMEs we surveyed said they had not asked for funds from their bank with the same number telling us they had reduced the money they took from their business, suggesting businesses may be ‘self-funding’ their activities. This could be forcing them to focus more on the day-to-day operations than on planning for the future. “Entrepreneurship is fundamental to economic growth – the Government last year called for a private sector-led recovery to help stimulate growth“ and yet, our research shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is being challenged, with a significant number of owners thinking about returning to the workforce.”
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