Small firms plan to cease trading

 Thousands of small firms plan to cease trading

New research indicates 370,000 small businesses are planning to cease trading over the next five years, putting more than 1.8m jobs under threat. The survey by Opinium for Bizdaq also found that 424,000 business owners plan to quit their companies by selling them within five years. London business owners were the most likely to be thinking about an exit within five years, at 43%, while those in the East of England are happiest running their firms, with 11% considering exiting. The survey also shows a fairly even split amongst small business owners on whether or not to leave the EU - 41% said the UK should stay in the EU, 44% were in favour of leaving, and 15% said they were still undecided. However, SMEs with a higher revenue were more likely to want to stay in the EU.

Source: The Mail on Sunday (15/05/2016)