Recent news of petrol prices rising to a record high of £1.56 per litre due to the global energy crisis has piled further pressure on UK residents and small businesses alike, with the rise in costs severely affecting business supplies and supply chains, the need for an experienced risk management plan is now more crucial than ever. The unreliability of oil supplies being imported into the country has caused a rising demand for fuel, shooting the price up, thus prompting small businesses to re-assess their operations to combat the increased price.

Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital, states that whilst the steady growth of petrol prices is a serious obstacle to consider (with fuel already being a major expense for many small businesses), adopting an astute approach to the situation could enable a small business to reduce spend and even trigger innovations that have the potential to improve existing business practices, small businesses must be prepared to adapt to the rising petrol prices and must have an astute plan in place. This is the latest obstacle in the small business world, but small business are showing their resiliency more than ever in the economically uncertain times the world is facing today. After the pandemic, these businesses have developed inventive strategies to offset the rising costs whilst staying profitable. Some of these strategies include adding fuel surcharges to delivery services businesses adopted during the pandemic, and some are scrapping delivery all together.

One of the most impressive sectors in the UK business scene is the small business sector. SMEs throughout the UK have battled obstacles over the past few years to register an impressive growth throughout 2021 and have continued this momentum into 2022 with 56.2% of SMEs reporting a rise in earnings in the last quarter of 2021 versus the same period of 2020.

With 16% of UK investors looking to back start-ups and newly formed businesses it seems they will be given a platform to continue the success and progression of their companies throughout 2022. The community and investors are ready to back small businesses and small businesses are ready to maximise this exciting opportunity. It seems to be an exciting time for small businesses in the UK and it poses an exciting, alternative investment prospect for investors.

Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital discusses:

“The UK small business sector may be feeling the affects of the rising cost of operations, but nonetheless is in an exciting time. SMEs have constantly adapted over the past few years to deal with many obstacles and this new problem should be dealt with in the same way. SMEs have worked so hard throughout the last year, now with many developing creative strategies to stay lucrative amid rising fuel costs.”

“SMEs are set to drive employment and investing throughout 2022 – with nearly half of UK SMEs looking to hire new employees after a promising start to 2022 and UK investors ready to back start-ups and newly formed businesses SMEs are ready to make 2022 an impressive year and grow as much as possible throughout the year.”

“The EIS could also be an important trend throughout 2022. The EIS can be said to offer a win-win situation for both investors and small businesses – providing SMEs with much-needed investment to provide them with a platform to grow, whilst providing investors with tax reliefs to incentivise this investment. Small businesses and SMEs throughout the UK have benefitted enormously from the EIS in the last 25 years, fuelling growth and job creation at an impressive scale.”