SME's see growth in July

SME growth up in July A study from NatWest shows that over a third of SMEs reported growth in July, up from 10% in April, while the number of smaller firms shrinking fell from more than three-quarters in April to under 30% last month. Stephen Blackman, principal economist at NatWest, commented: “It's welcome news that, like the economy overall, small businesses sentiment and activity improved sharply in July”. He also said there should not be too much read into “slight relative underperformance” compared to recovery among bigger companies, as “the gap should narrow”.