South: KPMG issues guide to help SMEs develop export opportunities

KPMG has launched an in-depth guide and online export assessment tool for businesses considering the opportunities presented by overseas markets to boost sales, as the UK defines a new trading regime as part of Brexit plans.

As DIT figures reveal a 13.1% rise in UK exports over the past year, the big four professional services firm says that it has seen an increase in mid-market businesses asking for advice driven by the need to increase sales, reduce costs and access specialist skills and capacity from overseas.  Currently less than 10% of UK SME businesses export and are missing out on potentially billions of revenue according to a report by World First.

KPMG’s 60-page Going Global guide comes as research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) recently found that the UK ranked in the top five spots for the level of absolute exports. However, this is due mostly to the success of larger firms in trading overseas leaving SMEs potentially missing out on a wealth of opportunity to expand their international footprint.

Ian Brokenshire, enterprise lead in the South, said: “Having an overseas strategy makes sense for any business looking for growth but is particularly important for SMEs who run their businesses with very tight profit margins. Many of these businesses are often wholly reliant on their home market place, but as our departure from the EU gets closer, and with the weak pound proving attractive to overseas buyers, now is the time to reach out to new customers and suppliers further afield. Almost half of UK exports in goods and services went to the EU last year so any increases on duties could impact tight margins making it sensible to start exploring the other options now.

“Many of the companies that we work with have a product or a service that they believe is suitable for export, but there are obvious barriers that they perceive in making the most of the opportunities and fear around the potential pitfalls. Whilst ‘going global’ can be a complex task with financial, tax, legal and cultural implications to consider, the rewards can be great and it can enable a business to diversify both its income streams and supply chain and therefore mitigate against market risk. By 2020 China, USA, India, Japan and Brazil are expected to be the leading nations by GDP and UK businesses should be forging links with these countries to get their share of the golden opportunities on offer.”

KPMG’s online export assessment tool has been designed to help business understand how ready they may be or what they need to focus on in order to progress their overseas ambitions.  In 2016/17 the Department for International Trade provided £3 billion in export support to UK companies helping hundreds of businesses to sell to more than 60 countries around the world – 79% of these companies were SMEs.

Commenting on the Going Global guide, secretary of state for international trade Dr Liam Fox, said: “UK exports are growing from strength to strength, but there’s huge potential for more businesses to target overseas markets and meet the global demand for UK goods and services.

“The dynamic and experienced team at my international economic department are helping more businesses that want to export, and we are proud to work with KPMG to ensure UK SMEs can access the support they need to expand and succeed abroad.”