British small and medium businesses continue positive growth trend

The UK's small and medium businesses (SMBs) have fully benefited from the economy's strong growth, the latest SME Monitor published by the Aldermore Bank was able to reveal.

The research compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research suggests that wages among SMEs are up 1.9% year-on-year, but salary-related costs have been offset by falling product costs, with the price of materials including metals and chemicals declining by 0.8% in the first quarter.

Furthermore, SMEs have also enjoyed a 3.3% reduction in the cost of financial services. This, together with the fall in the cost of physical inputs, has ensured that despite rising wages, the overall cost inflation increase has been moderate.

Mark Stephens, Aldermore deputy chief executive and group commercial director, commented on the findings: "Despite a marginal rise in cost inflation, Aldermore's SME Monitor paints a positive picture for SMEs in Q1 2014. Confidence is up across the board and SMEs are showing particular optimism. Wages are up, which is fantastic news for employees, and the cost of commodities is down. 2014 looks set to be a strong growth year for the UK economy and UK businesses."

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