Gearing up for growth

The last few years have been characterised by economic 'doom and gloom' in the media and the much talked about credit crunch, double or even triple dip recessions and a cost of living crisis. Whilst, in the main, the Thames Valley and South of England have been relatively cushioned from the worst effects of the economic downturn, we have seen many businesses take a conservative approach and look to control costs and protect cash, rather than really push for growth and investment.

With lots of positive economic indicators over the last few months, now may be a good time for those businesses to review their plans and see how they can develop and accelerate their growth.

How might this be achieved?

• Sales focus: get your management team focused on growing turnover. Many businesses have concentrated on cost control for the last few years. Now is a good time to look at how you can win new business.

• Assess your competition: whilst business insolvencies are running at low levels, there are lots of so-called ‘zombie’ businesses out there just treading water and struggling to survive. Look at how you can take advantage of this - you might be able to acquire them, attack their customer base or recruit their best employees.

• Review your products and services: you might not have invested in new products and services in recent years. Are your products and services still relevant to your customers and potential customers? Now might be the right time to focus on product development and there are some great tax breaks for research and development expenditure.

• Consider investment: many businesses have held off capital investment in recent years. With interest rates likely to remain at very low levels for the next two to three years, now may be the time to increase your capital spend. Currently there are some great tax incentives for investment with the ? rst £250,000 of capital investment usually attracting 100% tax relief.

• Invest in people: you may have made redundancies in recent years or had pay freezes or reductions. The job market is beginning to move after a long period of stagnation. Make sure that your key employees are fully incentivised to remain with you, and consider whether you need to recruit.

Many businesses have been successful over the last 5 years by responding quickly to changing market conditions, when others have been slow to adapt. Make sure that you are one of the winners in the brighter times ahead.

Alan Poole, Director, James Cowper Kreston LLP, Tel +44 (0)118 9590261 or email