Real Business - The Champion of UK Enterprise

Brit firms’ red tape exodus

By Dan Matthews, published 230 days ago in Leadership.

New figures from Investec Specialist Private Bank show that one in 10 entrepreneurs are giving serious thought to shifting their UK business operations to other countries with more favourable terms for businesses.

A further 17 per cent of respondents, all successful entrepreneurs with meaningful interests in medium sized British businesses, said they had considered the move in the past.

The figures come despite a growing sense of optimism among the survey’s entrepreneurs. Just under 90 per cent said they expected revenues to increase in 2010 compared to only 4 per cent anticipating a decline.

Ed Cottrell at Investec said: “There is a high degree of optimism amongst some of the country’s most successful business people about the opportunities the current environment will generate, but access to funding will be essential to helping them meet their plans for growth, and they have some serious concerns about this.

“Many are considering alternative sources such as mezzanine finance, invoice discounting and private equity possibly as a result of the perceived shortage in availability of traditional bank debt.”

You can now book tickets for the 2010 Investec Entrepreneurs' Summit, hosted by Real Business and supported by the CBI, on May 12 at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square.

The theme this year is: "How to Thrive in the New Volatility".  The Entrepreneurs` Summit is the one day devoted to UK SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Co-hosted by CBI director-general Richard Lambert, we will open with a major debate about the future for the UK economy, chaired by Financial Times economics editor Chris Giles.

The 2010 Entrepreneurs¹ Summit brings together iconic mid-sized UK businesses, as well as cutting-edge entrepreneurs to discuss the success strategies of the future.

For more details, visit the Summit website here - http://es.realbusiness.co.uk/

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