Do you consider yourself to have a poor work-life balance? Base: n=760 businesses all markets.Source: Echo Thinking about your average working day, approximately how many hours in total do you spend working or thinking about your business? Base: n=760 businesses all markets.Source: Echo Paul Clifford Azets UK, Regional CEO, Midlands As the UK’s largest regional SME accountancy and business advisory firm, Azets is delighted that its new SME Barometer gives Midlands SMEs a voice. There are c.1 million SMEs across the Midlands, representing a significant proportion of the business community, and this number hasbeen steadily increasing over the past decade, in line with data for the rest of the UK.The SME market is vital to our regional economy, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and contributing billions of pounds, andwill become even more important in the recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Azets’ SME Barometer offers great insight into the challenges and opportunities ahead for our regional SMEs, in particular manufacturing and advanced engineering business, many of which provided a critical service during the pandemic and were forced to adapt to fast-moving circumstances. These businesses represent the Midlands nationally and the SME Barometer captures signals and views across these and several other markets. Key findings Personal impact 30% of SME business leaders say they have a poor work-life balance 36 Azets SME Barometer Report Summer 2021 Contents Contents Contents Contents download report download report Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets Foreword Summary of findings About the study Key findings Economic outlook Business outlook UK levelling up Opportunities and threats Priorities ahead Investment and borrowing Government support International trade and Brexit Personal impact About Azets