We’re delighted to launch our 2020 ECI Growth Index, which shows that two-thirds of growth businesses still predicted growth after Covid-19 struck. Of the 403 respondents surveyed, 44% predicted growth of 11% or more. Whilst this is certainly a positive sign given the mass market disruption that has occurred as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, this is down from 88% of businesses predicting growth this year prior to the pandemic officially being declared.
The ECI Growth Index is the longest-running survey focusing on growth companies in the UK, which is now in its 11th year. The Index polls business sentiment and analyses the key concerns and opportunities for these businesses.
Sector resilience
According to our resilience analysis, TMT was the sector which was most resilient to the crisis, with four-fifths (80%) of TMT businesses defined as resilient, followed by business services (77%), healthcare (74%) and financial services (74%). Despite the ongoing challenges facing the consumer sector as a result of the pandemic and the ever-changing lockdown restrictions, 72% of consumer businesses were still classed as resilient.
International businesses leading the charge
Despite ongoing political uncertainty, 84% of growth businesses expect overseas growth in the next 12 months. Interestingly, our analysis showed that less resilient business are three times more likely to only operate domestically when compared to resilient businesses. The correlation between resilience and having an international operation may be a driver behind the high percentage of businesses looking to expand globally.
Obstacles to growth
Perhaps most surprisingly, despite it dominating the news headlines for the last four years, Brexit was not deemed as a key concern for businesses when asked about potential obstacles to their future growth, with less than a quarter (23%) of business leaders classing Brexit as a top short-term concern for their business.
Tom Wrenn, Partner, comments:
