NatWest : UK Small Business PMI® - December

Andrew Harrison, Head of Business Banking at NatWest, said: 'Our latest NatWest UK Small Business PMI index highlights the challenging conditions that small firms, particularly in consumer-facing sectors, are facing with a fall in output seen for the third month straight. However, with small manufacturing and construction firms seeing growth even with increased pressures on their supply chains and costs, we can see how coronavirus impacts businesses in different ways. This is why, alongside our core financial support, our tools, such as the Coronavirus Business Pulse Check we offer, can help our small business customers build resilience as they face into further uncertainty.'

Stephen Blackman, NatWest Principal Economist, added: 'While December saw relative resilience of small firms in the manufacturing and construction sectors, in contrast, consumer-facing sectors continue to bear the brunt of weakness, notably hospitality and leisure. The third UK national lockdown looks set to prompt a renewed decline in business sentiment in early 2021. All in all, the UK small business sector faces hurdles near-term, but a successful rollout of the vaccine should allow the UK economy to gradually reopen in Q2, paving the way for a modest upturn in the second half of 2021. Still, it could be a while before small companies feel the benefit of a recovery particularly if restrictions are tightened further.'

Download the December NatWest UK Small Business PMI® here (PDF 1.9MB)