Wednesday 11 May 2016 – Small businesses in Wales are voting to stay in the EU at the upcoming EU Referendum, survey results released by business for sale marketplace Bizdaq (www.mybizdaq.com) has found.
The survey found that although small businesses (businesses with 0-49 employees) in the region were overall voting to stay, the vote is still very close, with:
- 53% – voting to stay
- 47% – voting to leave
- 0% – undecided
Wales is the only region to have no undecided voters, and the only region to have more than 50% in favour of staying in the EU.
The survey also looked at the performance of the UK’s small businesses, and found Welsh small businesses showed poorer performance than the average. Whilst the average UK small business has 4.85 employees, an average annual turnover of £89,000 and that 34% of small business owners are looking to exit their business within the next five years, those in Wales:
- Employ an average of 6 people – 2 more than average
- Have an average annual turnover of £64,700 – over £20,000 less than the average
- 33% of small business owners are thinking of exiting in the next five years – 1% below average
Whilst it’s good news that Welsh small businesses employ so many people, the low average turnover would be a cause for concern as it could mean some of these full-time employees would struggle to be paid.
Interestingly the revenue of businesses didn’t have an impact on whether an owner was planning to leave – the East of England had both the lowest exit rate and the lowest average revenue, whilst the East Midlands – which had the highest average revenue – was second only to London for business owners looking to exit.
It also revealed that small businesses with a higher revenue were more likely to want to stay in the EU. The average annual revenue of those wanting to stay was £93,000 compared to those wanting to leave at £84,000 – a £9,000 difference.
The industries most likely to support the Brexit were the hospitality, construction and professional services industries, whilst those in education, IT and wholesale want to stay.
Sean Mallon, CEO of Bizdaq, said “Wales is famous for its community spirit, and it’s good to see so many people are employed in small businesses in Wales. The turnover could be a cause for concern, however as fewer owners than average are looking to exit, this suggests people are willing to stick at the business and try to turn fortunes around.
It is clear that Britain’s small business owners are relatively undecided as to whether it’s “better the devil you know” and remain in the EU, or whether their business would actually benefit from less EU regulation and more state control. It seems the larger the business, the more EU trade they are likely to have and there seems to be a correlation with these companies wanting to remain in the EU.”
More information can be seen here: https://www.mybizdaq.com/small-business-closure-report
