“We’re Not Assured About Price range”, Say SMEs 

SMEs are removed from optimistic in regards to the prospect of fine information within the Autumn Price range.

New analysis reveals that greater than three in 4 enterprise leaders have little to no confidence that November’s Price range will help development.

And, whereas 56% respondents anticipate an uplift in income, greater than a fifth anticipate profitability to fall within the subsequent 12 months.

Just one in ten anticipate any enchancment within the wider financial system, underlining the deep sense of warning and concern amongst UK SMEs.

The place enterprise leaders see hope – and strain

The figures come from Vistage, a worldwide enterprise efficiency and management organisation, which printed its quarterly CEO Confidence Index for 2025.

The outcomes mirror an total dip in confidence, with the index falling to 88 in Q3 2025, down from 89.5 in Q2 and 107.1 a 12 months in the past.

A lot of this decline stems from the precarious state of the financial system. Whereas 57% of SMEs anticipate income development, on the similar time, 22% predict a drop in profitability. To outlive this era of instability, 42% of companies plan to boost costs within the coming months, whereas 19% have already elevated costs by 7–10% this 12 months.

On the similar time, one in 4 companies report a drop in shopper demand and spending. This creates a troublesome balancing act: elevating costs sufficient to remain afloat with out completely alienating your buyer base.

Autumn Price range and SME priorities

The Autumn Price range has the ability to shift the financial system, however most SMEs aren’t satisfied it is going to ship of their favour. Vistage’s index exhibits that 76% of leaders lack confidence that the Chancellor will introduce insurance policies to help development.

In a great world, greater than half of respondents (58%) say chopping enterprise taxes, akin to Company Tax or Employer Nationwide Insurance coverage, can be their high precedence.

Different requests embrace funding in infrastructure (20%), decreasing regulatory burdens (10%), focused funding incentives (9%), and labour market help (4%).

In our report on what the upcoming Price range would possibly include, we discovered that many founders are urgent for a reversal of current employer Nationwide Insurance coverage (NI) hikes, alongside a transparent dedication to not elevate taxes additional.

Trade teams, akin to UKHospitality, have additionally been urgent for reform of enterprise charges and NI contributions, in addition to a lowered VAT fee for the sector, already demonstrated by many EU international locations.

However sadly, expectations could fall wanting actuality. Economists estimate the Chancellor may have to seek out as a lot as £40bn, so tax rises look more and more possible, whereas beneficiant help packages seem much less so.

Are folks nonetheless the best asset?

Regardless of these pressures, SMEs stay dedicated to development by their workforce. The Vistage survey exhibits that 37% plan to increase their groups over the subsequent 12 months.

Rebecca Drew, Managing Director of Vistage UK and Eire, mentioned: “Whereas leaders are grappling with rising prices, weaker buyer demand, and uncertainty round authorities coverage, many are nonetheless centered on development — planning to increase their group and spend money on worker engagement.”

Nevertheless, the labour market presents its personal challenges. Industries proceed to wrestle with hiring, whereas wider traits complicate recruitment. On the finish of August, it was revealed that hospitality has accounted for greater than half of all job losses within the UK since final October.

The rise of AI adoption and outsourcing to freelance digital assistants has raised issues over job safety and group morale. SMEs can often depend on the Price range to ease the uncertainty over the subsequent 12 months, however it appears that evidently few are relying on that this autumn.