THERE has been a 26 per cent rise in the last six month in the number of small businesses saying that market uncertainty is holding them back from growing – according to a new study from Hitachi Capital Business Finance.

Hitachi Capital’s Business Barometer asked more than 1,200 small business owners which external factors were holding their business back. It found that 75 per cent of small businesses were being held back by factors that were outside of their control, with market uncertainty affecting three in five.

A growing number also cited the falling value of the pound as a big concern in the months ahead, rising from eight per cent in May to 13 per cent in October.

Small firms in North-East were more likely to say this month that they were fearful of market uncertainty preventing them from growing – rising from 31 per cent in May to 53 per cent this month.

They were also the most likely to admit that volatile cash flow and red tape acted as significant barriers to growth compared to the national average.

Small businesses in the accounting and manufacturing sectors are most likely to blame market uncertainty as a barrier to growth. In the agricultural sector, this has traditionally been a more moderate issue but this quarter the sector sees the sharpest rise in concerns over market uncertainty – a relative 48 per cent rise in six months.

The research from Hitachi Capital also suggests that the young and most established businesses are most worried about protracted market uncertainty. For enterprises that have been trading for five to 10 years, concerns have risen from 29 per cent to 42 per cent – and for those who have been trading for 35 years or more market uncertainty fears have rose from 29 per cent in May to 48 per cent in October.

Gavin Wraith-Carter, managing director at Hitachi Capital Business Finance said: “With the upcoming General Election, it seems highly unlikely that there will be a clear position on Government policy or Brexit until after the Christmas break.

“For many small businesses this will mean planning for a New Year with lots of unknowns as market factors.

“This could play out with us seeing dip in business confidence at the start of 2020 although, longer term, when the sector has greater certainty to plan against we envisage small businesses will be the first to see change as an opportunity to grow and diversify.”

“One of the remarkable findings from our research over the last year is that, overall, there has been little change in the perceived barriers that small businesses feel they have to overcome to grow their business.

“Despite a period of unprecedented market volatility and political uncertainty, there has been no significant rise in the proportion of businesses citing red tape, cash flow or access to labour as bigger issues than they were a year ago.”