Member Article

‘Boris was wrong to party but right about Omicron’, says high street expert

Gareth Smyth, CEO of Hilton Smythe Business Advisers, has welcomed the positive news in the latest GDP figures, which suggest that Britain is recovering from the effects of COVID 19, faster than many other Western economies.

Figures published on 14 January showed that GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.9 per cent in November 2021 and is above its pre-pandemic level for the first time, by 0.7 per cent.

While health and social work activities contributed the most percentage points to the GDP (0.95), wholesale and retail trade added 0.35 percentage points, making it the second highest contributor.

Working closely with small and medium sized businesses, Gareth has seen the positive effect of consumers returning to the high street, and how this, in turn, has increased the value of these businesses.

Gareth Smyth said: “After a couple of COVID-heavy years, it’s great to see light at the end of the tunnel, particularly for retail businesses.

“Although the prime minister is under fire for so-called ‘partygate’ – his decisions to buy up vaccines early and to hold back on omicron restrictions, have been vindicated as the UK is now amongst the best recovering economies.

“From our perspective, as business advisers, many people, post-pandemic, are looking to take control of their careers; we’re seeing more buyers approaching us, so the demand for businesses for sale is very high.

“Now that the GDP is recovering, there is more confidence in the market and businesses are worth more than they were pre-pandemic, making it a great time to sell. Many sellers have been very surprised at the value of their business, given how negative the mood has been since 2020.

“I’m delighted to see some positive economic news and a clear indicator that we’re on the road to recovery.”

Hilton Smythe Business Advisers is a UK-wide business advisory service headquartered in Bolton that helps people to buy, sell or grow their business.

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