Economists had predicted Friday 13th would deliver a GDP fright show but it didn’t prove to be ⚽ The economy grew by 0.1% in November, with the largest contribution to growth coming from pubs and bars due to the World Cup ✒️ Dominic Hiatt
The reaction of business owners to the data was mixed. Ian Hepworth, director of Croydon-based Funding Solutions UK, was largely upbeat: “Businesses are facing rising interest rates, sky-high inflation and supply chain disruption but there’s still life in the economy, as shown by the better than expected numbers in November. Many businesses are highly resilient and their management teams are navigating through these headwinds. It’s not all bad news.
But Steven Mather, a lawyer at Leicester-based Steven Mather Solicitor, warned that “though this GDP data came in better than expected, we’re seeing a significant uptick in business clients needing debt recovery”. This suggests businesses are stalling on their payments to suppliers, which is generally due to cash flow pressure. Based on the demand he’s seeing for debt recovery support, Mather expects “insolvencies to increase hugely this year”.
Arguably a telling insight into the state of the economy and mindset of the average business owner right now comes from Beth Nash of the Billingshurst-based digital marketing agency, Smart Monkey: “A lot of the businesses we work with want immediate results, namely through Google Ads and social media advertising. Business owners are looking for quick wins rather than the longer-term picture, which you achieve with organic SEO, and that’s a sign of the times.
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