SMALL businesses in Scotland are missing out on the benefits of a weak pound, a study yesterday warned.
Fewer Scottish firms are making overseas expansion a high priority compared with other areas of the UK, a survey by GE Commercial Finance found.
But business figures were surprised by the results of the study, with Scottish Development Internation
al (SDI), the Scottish Government's international economic development agency, pointing to a rising number of firms accessing its services.
According to the GE study, only 6 per cent of Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considering expanding abroad, making them the least likely in the UK to pursue such a course.
Firms in Wales and the north-west and south-west of England were most likely to consider selling their wares overseas, with 16 per cent thinking about exporting, followed by 14 per cent in Yorkshire and Humberside.
GE said the weak pound made exporting more attractive and that companies already sending goods and services overseas should charge their customers in dollars or euros to make the most of the current economic opportunities.
The research showed just 12 per cent of UK SMEs put overseas expansion in their top business priorities for the year and that only 11 per cent of total SME sales growth in the UK is expected to come from overseas work.
John Jenkins, chief executive of business finance at GE Commercial Finance, said: "The weakening of sterling against the euro and the US dollar should provide excellent opportunities for UK firms to maximise their export potential."
GE also advised companies already exporting to invoice customers in their own currencies rather than using sterling to adjust their prices.
Colin Borland, a Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland spokesman, said: "
It's up to Scotland's and Britain's business support agencies to ensure our SMEs have the information they need to expand sustainably overseas.
"It's important to remember, in the current economic conditions, there exist both opportunities and challenges for Scotland's small businesses.
"The flip-side to these results is that it's becoming more expensive to import goods and services from abroad – which could see sourcing locally coming back into fashion."
An SDI spokeswoman said: "Our customers are very active internationally and, in 2007, we helped more businesses than ever access overseas markets.
"With the current economic uncertainty, accessing new markets will become ever more important, particularly if existing traditional markets slow down.
"SDI is working with businesses across Scotland to ensure they have all the support they need to help them capitalise on these opportunities."
PROFILE MANY small Scottish businesses are already making the most of overseas markets.
Brewdog, the micro-brewery in Fraserburgh, was founded in April 2007 and is already exporting its beers to Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States.
James Watt and Martin Dickie, who founded the brewery, are in the running for the entrepreneur of the year award at next week's National Business Awards for Scotland.
The full article contains 504 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
