A significant easing in the pace of decline in the UK’s manufacturing and service sectors has not been enough to lift the economy out of recession, leaving thousands of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a fierce battle to survive, according to a new survey.
 

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that more than 5,600 businesses showed sales and orders continued to fall in the three months to June this year. The figures – which suggest the UK economy shrunk by 0.1-0.4% in the second quarter of this year –  has left economists at the BCC pessimistic about any return to economic growth until the end of this year at the very earliest.
 
However, it found that increasing numbers of SMEs are taking advantage of new advances in technology and weathering the economic storm.

These businesses are doing away with £10,000-plus start-up IT costs and choosing instead to install software solutions which can cost as little as £6 a month, without requiring any hardware or maintenance contracts. The pay-as-you-go deals are available in much the same way as mobile telephone packages for consumers.