General Business

SMEs in the UK have been subject to many obstacles over the past few years. Whilst the pandemic has presented opportunities to many businesses, there are many others who have suffered or even failed. So, what common traits exist in the successful SMEs that have survived?

While there are world-leading and enterprising businesses and innovators right across the UK, economic growth and the higher productivity which drives it has been over-concentrated in specific areas, particularly the South East of England. Talent is spread equally across the United Kingdom, opportunity is not. Levelling up is a mission to challenge and change that rectify that.

The Government has announced that England will fully return to Plan A on Thursday 27th January after the success of the booster programme. On 8th December 2021, the country moved to Plan B following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. The measures introduced late last year helped to control the spread of COVID-19 and strengthened defences.

Exemplas Connect has revolutionised the way Hertfordshire Growth Hub delivers business support to SMEs, helping it support thousands of companies, improve performance and create major efficiencies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have had to innovate in order to survive. Innovation can take many forms, from making changes to processes or supply chains, remote working, digital transformation, or pivoting products to enter new markets or meet changing customer needs. With the reliance on innovation increasing, many businesses looked for funding and support in order to capitalise on this opportunity.

Last year’s sudden shift to remote working meant that many companies needed to change the way they operate to accommodate working from home and adopt a more flexible working model.