Small Business Survey Scotland: 2023-2024

Business Performance and Outlook

• 27 per cent of SME employers that had been trading for at least one year had employed more people than a year previously. 54 per cent employed the same number and 19 per cent employed fewer
• 26 per cent of SME employers expected to employ more people in 12 months’ time. 62 per cent expected to employ the same amount and 11 per cent expected to employ fewer
• of all SME employers that had been trading for at least one year, 44 per cent increased their turnover over the previous year. 30 per cent had approximately the same turnover and 24 per cent had lower turnover
• 36 per cent of SME employers expected turnover to increase in the next 12 months, 47 per cent expected turnover to stay approximately the same and 14 per cent expected turnover to decrease
• 78 per cent of SME employers generated a profit/surplus in their last financial year

Figure 6: For Cohort B, the most reported obstacles to the success of businesses were the level of energy prices (62 per cent – a decrease of 10 per cent on last year), taxation/VAT/PAYE/ National Insurance and business rates (47 per cent) and jointly UK exit from the EU and staff recruitment/skills (43 per cent each).

Major obstacles to the success of the business (2023-24). Multiple answers allowed to this question.

Source: Small Business Survey Scotland 2023-2024 from DBT and Scottish Government. For Figure 6 data, see table ‘G2’.

• of those SME employers in Cohort B that reported UK exit from the EU as a major obstacle to business success, an increase in the cost of EU imports was the most reported difficulty experienced (66 per cent)
• 76 per cent of SME employers aimed to grow sales over the next three years