Almost 75% of entrepreneurs are planning to make an acquisition or establish a joint venture with former competitors within the next three years, a survey has revealed.
Accountancy firm Baker Tilly’s owner-managed business survey questioned 300 board directors of companies with a turnover between £5m and £50m and found that 38% of respondents are planning an acquisition in the next three years and 35% are planning a joint venture during the same period.
The survey also found that 21% of owner-managers are expecting to expand abroad within three years.
However, more than half of entrepreneurs surveyed predicted that they would make further redundancies and expect a further drop in sales in the coming year, with 51% anticipating a drop in staff headcount in the next 12 months and 55% planning for a drop in operating profits.
The survey suggested businesses at the larger end of the market are most optimistic about the trading environment over the coming 12 months, with 46% of businesses with a turnover of £50m or more expecting an increase in sales while just 23% of the firms with turnover under £10m expect an increase in revenues.
Laurence Longe, national managing partner at Baker Tilly, said: “I would advise all company board members to ensure they have a strong business plan in place, show discipline when executing it and react quickly to any change in circumstances.
“While there are still very real threats posed by the recession, there are also opportunities to create stronger companies that will be better placed to take advantage of the recovery when the time is right to do so.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2009