Member Article

Surge in business investment expected as Brexit uncertainty dissappears

The new Decision Markers Panel (DMP) survey from Nottingham and Stanford universities, in collaboration with the Bank of England, has showed an uptick in business investment expectations.

According to the survey of 3,000 chief financial officers, businesses can expect an easing of the three-year slump in capital expenditure. In the three months to January, the surveyed businesses said they expected investment in the year ahead to grow 4.6 per cent in financial terms, up from 2.4 per cent in the previous three months.

Experts have attributed this confidence in investment to the decline in Brexit uncertainty after the decisive general election result in December 2019.

Paul Mizen, professor of monetary economics at Nottingham university, said that while it was “early days”, “there are some tentative signs in the DMP that the fall in Brexit uncertainty may lead to a modest pick-up in investment”.

Sridhar Iyengar, MD of Zoho Europe commented, “With the Brexit process complete and a clear majority government following the general election, it’s no surprise that UK businesses are seizing the moment and choosing to increase investment now that the political uncertainty is coming to an end.

It’s vital that companies, and particularly SMEs, move forward with confidence in 2020, but this approach requires a fresh strategy around technology investment. Many fast-growing firms still struggle to absorb the increased responsibility and workload of a booming customer portfolio, especially when growth requires new hires, training and IT support and engaging with customers in today’s digital and physical medium“.

It cannot be right that so many of the UK’s most ambitious organisations fall short of expectations due to worries about overheads and a lack of experience in rapid expansion. This year, companies seeking to grown should look towards flexible software solutions, to manage critical business functions such as finance, customer relationship management and analytics for smarter decision-making. The software-as-a-service approach enables companies to access enterprise-grade IT, with a fair price tag and the ability to upscale new licences and services in line with business growth.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Till .