A survey of SMEs by telecoms provider Unicom has found 45 per cent of small business owners are not going to increase prices in a bid to maintain profit margins. This is a stark contrast to many of the big UK companies as the nation faces rising food, clothing, travel and petrol costs.
Just over 18 per cent of owners surveyed said they were planning to increase their prices and 36 per cent were still unsure, opting to monitor the market over the next few months before making a decision.
Chris Earle, operations director at Unicom, said: “It’s encouraging to see the owners of SMEs are committed to providing best value for their customers, even during the credit squeeze.
“In our own industry we have seen companies such as BT continue to hike up the costs of its services. Unicom has bucked this trend by providing our customers with competitive pricing and fixed rates for three years. We firmly believe this has contributed to our success, resulting in a 13.5 per cent rise in sales this year taking our annual turnover to more than £50 million.”