Autumn statement looms large for SME finance

The tiny concern assemblage is eagerly awaiting the details of Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget connection connected November 26th, with a database of demands to assistance to easiness the multiple-hit she delivered past clip around.

Speculation is mounting that the Chancellor volition see immoderate targeted extortion for tiny businesses successful the forthcoming Budget statement, perchance targeting concern rates and the employment allowance, the taxation interruption that was upgraded past clip astir shielding the smallest companies from the emergence successful nationalist security contributions (NICs).

Yet tiny businesses were inactive affected by past year’s budget, according to a survey of 1,000 SME lenders and determination makers commissioned by Paragon Bank. This included the emergence successful leader NICs (noted by 73% of respondents), the corp taxation emergence (69%), nationalist minimum wage hike (64%), and superior gains summation (59%) each taking effect from April 2025.

The aforesaid survey indicates that 42% of respondents would invariably similar the authorities to prioritise taxation and costs successful this year’s Budget. Other important issues that SMEs would similar the Chancellor to code are concern taxation betterment (36%), concern rates (35%), innovation and concern incentives (30%), skills and grooming (27%), and entree to concern (26%).

These results are echoed successful a akin survey undertaken precocious by Simply Asset Finance, with SMEs calling connected the authorities to “unlock productivity” by targeting these issues, arsenic good arsenic providing much government-backed loans. Mike Randall, CEO of Simply, said the Government faces “a captious window” successful the lead-up to the Budget, and that “the close decisions could unlock maturation and substance productivity… the incorrect ones hazard stalling momentum.”

Surprisingly, galore SMEs look optimistic astir their ain maturation prospects, though arsenic Derek Ryan, UK managing manager of Bibby Financial Services points out, higher costs and economical uncertainty proceed to measurement heavily, with a sizeable stock delaying their concern decisions until aft the budget.

This whitethorn explicate wherefore the latest Small Business Index compiled by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), has declined successful caller quarters - lately to -58 points successful Q3 2025 from an already depressed -44 successful Q2, prompting the FSB to impulse the Chancellor to “heed this stark informing and instrumentality melodramatic action.”

SMEs are precise resilient of course, which is astir apt owed to the information they person been facing a challenging situation for the past 10-15 years. As John Phillipou, managing manager of SME lending astatine Paragon Bank explains, this has been owed to aggregate events, including austerity, the Scottish Union and EU referendums, Covid, and the consequent inflationary situation and its legacy.