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Your business is doing well - not only are you planning to open a second location, but you're also looking into expanding your product range and taking on a few new hires. It's the kind of progress you've worked hard for. However, to get there, you need funding. And with the loan agreement comes a personal guarantee.

• 51% of SMEs have supported employees financially during the cost of living crisis
• 64% are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint
• SMEs in West Midlands are most likely to act on decarbonisation
• Micro businesses report the strongest employee retention rates

Purbeck Insurance Services Urges Overworked SME community to acknowledge mental wellbeing this Mental Health Awareness Week 12-15^th May 2025

Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance Monitor Q1 2025       

Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance Monitor Q1 2025

As a director of a growing company, you’re constantly looking for opportunities to maintain your upward momentum. So when a lucrative new project is within reach, you need to act fast to secure it. But what if you need a quick injection of capital to purchase materials or cover labour costs before the contracts are finalised?

16th April 2025: Purbeck Insurance Services, the UK’s only provider of personal guarantee insurance to business owners is warning SMEs to be prepared to sign a personal guarantee for a major part of the loan secured through the Growth Guarantee Scheme. This follows feedback from customers who expected their personal liability to extend to just 30% of the loan.  

• 33% of UK SMEs are making a good profit and 55% have plans to expand
• The most profitable location to run a small business is in the West Midlands where 52% of firms are making a good profit
• Younger business owners are more profitable and more hungry to expand
• 84% of larger SMEs plan to adopt new technology, like AI in the new tax year

April 2025: As SMEs across the UK navigate the end of the tax year and  brace for an ‘awful April’ of rising bills, driven by fiscal changes such as minimum wage increases and national insurance contributions, a recent survey by Purbeck Insurance Services offers a more optimistic outlook.  The survey of small business decision makers from across the UK found that a third of SMEs are already making a good profit and more than half (55%) have plans to expand their business this year. Age and postcode matter, however, and younger business owners in the West Midlands are currently painting the brightest picture of business success.

We're now at that time of year when the weather is getting brighter and new growth is starting to appear. It’s a time for renewal, and for businesses the end of the financial year is much the same. It’s a time to reflect, review your financial obligations, and assess potential risks.

March 2025: As the Chancellor prepares her Spring Statement amid ongoing concerns over the rate of inflation, a new surveyⁱ⁾ of SME decision makers suggests a third of businesses (35%) are planning to  implement price increases to help mitigate the uplift in NIC from April 2025. Furthermore, 39% of firms are planning to introduce staff benefits to avoid higher wage bills.