Local business owners are bucking the trend of economic gloom and predicting growth in 2020. Recent research commissioned by The Coastal West Sussex Partnership shows that 67 per cent of business owners in Sussex and the surrounding areas expect their turnover to increase in the next year.
On average, respondents to the Partnership’s survey predicted a 6.3 per cent increase in turnover. Over half – 60 per cent – of respondents said their company would grow in 2020 and that figure rises to 73 per cent for respondents in senior management.
Of respondents based in West Sussex, 65 per cent said their company would grow, while three in ten predicted no change.
Just six per cent – around one in 20 – said they expected their turnover to reduce in 2020.
Funding is currently available from Coast to Capital for SMEs in West Sussex, Brighton & Hove, East Surrey, Croydon and Lewes District. The organisation has allocated £3.5m to go towards match-funded grants to help local businesses purchase innovative assets (like the latest tools or software) to boost productivity and profit margins.
Caroline Wood, Director of the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, commented: “These results are encouraging and paint a brighter picture than one might expect – Sussex business owners seem tentatively optimistic despite the potential economic turmoil ahead.
“We encourage any local SMEs that could benefit from a match-funded grant to help boost their productivity and increase turnover to submit an application to Coast to Capital.”
During September this year, 377 people were surveyed for the research that set out to collect the opinions of local businesspeople on the impact of factors such as infrastructure on their companies.
The Coastal West Sussex Partnership is a collective voice for local business and collaborates on economic issues affecting the coast.
For more information about the Coast to Capital Growth Grant Programme 2019-2020, please visit https://www.coast2capital.org.uk/growth-grant.
For more information about the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, please visit https://coastalwestsussex.org.uk/.