Media SMEs reveal Brexit concerns

More than half of media, marketing, advertising and PR small businesses have voiced concerns over potential opportunities in a post-Brexit environment.

A quarter of these businesses told Hitachi Capital Business Finance that they would be relying on the EU market in the coming 12 months.

But more importantly, 55% said they were struggling to see possible business opportunities as a result of the decision to leave the EU.

After the UK market, the EU was viewed as the next most important for growth by 55% of SMEs, with the North American market named by 22%.

This proportion of SMEs looking to the EU for growth was significantly more than other professional sectors taking part in the survey too.

For comparison, 19% of those in the Law sector view the EU as a key market for growth, while that figure drops to 11% and 9% among Financial Services and Accounting services respectively.

Of the 15 sectors studied, Media SMEs were also the most likely to expect decline in the next three months – 16% fell into this bracket, and a third of those reported that they would struggle to maintain business.

These businesses may wish to get some breathing space by considering administration – this allows an administrator to attempt to rescue the business as a going concern or to achieve better results for creditors should the firm be wound up.

Restructuring businesses in order to make them more resilient may also improve the situation for some, with innovative thinking a key part of turnaround management processes.

Confidence among media SMEs also took a hit in 2016, falling from 50% in Q2 to just 34% in Q3, although levels have gradually increased again in the period since.

It is suggested that many media organisations have worked to reposition themselves in preparation for what may follow, to ensure they are in the best position to take advantage of any post-Brexit opportunities for growth.

By Phil Smith

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