Business Groups Look Ahead To 2013

02 January 2013 •

New Year messages from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have warned of the challenges facing UK businesses in 2013.

The FSB's national chairman, John Walker, said that the group's members were heading into 2013 with more confidence than in 2011 or 2012 and that many small businesses would be looking to grow and invest in the next 12 months. He said that access to bank finance had continued to be an issue in 2012 and he hoped that the Funding for Lending and Business Bank initiatives would help with this.

Mr. Walker said: "The signs seem to be positive, but it's going to be a long road ahead with some economists warning of a triple-dip recession, and others cautious optimism. There is little doubt small firms are best placed to help the recovery as long as they have the confidence and ability to invest and grow."

The New Year message from the CBI focused on the UK's role in Europe and its trade relationships with the US. The CBI's director-general, John Cridland, said that it was vital for the UK to be able to use the EU as a launch-pad for increased exports and global trade.

Mr. Cridland said: "We can't beat around the bush - we pack a bigger punch in securing trade deals inside the EU than outside. The US wants the big prize - access to a market of 500 million customers across the EU, not just 60 million on our own shores. So the best way of getting the right deal for the UK is on an EU-wide basis."

"It's essential we stay at the table to bang the drum for businesses and defend our national interest, particularly protecting our world-class financial services industry to maintain our competitiveness internationally."

Elsewhere, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also reminded the Government that plans for the Business Bank would need a kick-start in the New Year. John Longworth, director general of the BCC, said: "We recognise that the road to a British Business Bank is a difficult one to travel. Yet business is clear that the new institution must develop into a major source of both patient growth capital and risk capital."

Mr. Longworth said that, in order for the bank to have a truly radical and transformative impact, it would need much larger amounts of capital in the long-term. He said: "We have one opportunity to radically change Britain's business finance system, and we must get it right."