A majority of UK businesses view the ability to ‘leapfrog’ struggling competitors as their key opportunity in the current recession, according to new research by Barclays Commercial examining recessionary behaviour amongst established UK companies.
The Turning the Corner survey, carried out at Barclays Commercial events around the UK, found corporate attitudes remained focused on competition over consolidation as 54% of the 305 business owners and managers questioned viewed the challenges faced by competitors as their key recessionary opportunity, followed by a third (31%) who viewed staff loyalty, retention and productivity as their greatest opportunity during the economic downturn.
The research also revealed strong evidence that the recession was significantly and permanently transforming the UK economy, with 60% of businesses claiming their organisation has been transformed for good due to the impact of recession, while less than a quarter of companies have continued to operate unchanged.
In an interesting twist on cash flow, it appears late payments (37%) are in fact causing greater pressures than a lack of demand (34%). And in a boost for free trade supporters, only one per cent of business leaders surveyed said protectionism would help their sector through the recession.
Asked when their business would return to a sustained growth phase, 24% claimed they continued to grow, while another 60% envisioned a return to growth within 18 months. Just three per cent of businesses did not expect to return to sustained growth within two years.
As more than a third of businesses pointed to their banks as the single most important resource during the recession, second only to customer base.
Other survey findings include:
– 62% of business owners/managers said they were currently
streamlining their business processes to combat recession.
– More than a third of UK businesses (35%) are helping their
customers to combat recession in order to tackle the recession
themselves.
– 37% said they are diversifying product and service offerings in
order to protect against the recession.
“These results show that far from being focused solely on survival, many companies are using this period to make a renewed push for growth and market share,” says David Marks, managing director, Barclays Commercial Bank, England and Wales.
“We are also seeing a grass roots economic transformation in the UK as businesses change what they produce and how they produce it en mass. This transformation is one that businesses and banks alike are working hard to understand and plan for.”
“Banks must evolve quickly in the current climate, and with our relationship directors spending 50% more time with their clients and the launch of major initiatives to offer practical advice and support for business operating through the recession, we believe Barclays Commercial is moving in the right direction,” continues Marks.
L.D.