The State of Small Business Britain 2022: From Crisis to Crisis

The latest ERC State of Small Business Britain report has been published today. The report is the centre’s annual review of trends affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and discusses the findings from research and analysis carried out and/or published by the ERC in 2022 including the results from our second ‘Business Futures’ Survey.

2022 has been yet another challenging year for the UK’s SME community. Shortly after most of the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted, we headed into a new crisis, with businesses and households this year having to confront soaring prices and energy costs. In this review we reflect on what our research insights tell us about how policymakers, practitioners and business leaders might help build the foundations needed for SME recovery and longer-term growth. Key themes this year include innovation, sustainability, adoption of digital technologies and workplace mental health and wellbeing.