43% of UK SMEs to vote Conservative in the forthcoming General Election.

(I-Newswire) April 29, 2010 - Touch Financial are pleased to announce the results of their recent survey which examined the potential business impact of the General Election on SMEs in the UK.

The survey, which canvassed the opinions of industry experts aimed to identify the impact of the General Election and what economic policies carried most importance.

Respondents came from a very diverse panel of SMEs ranging in size, industry and geographic location. This gave a very thorough overview of the opinions of some of the 4.7 million SMEs in the UK. Touch Financial are at the forefront of canvassing business opinion as current Polls tend to focus on individuals rather than businesses.

Some of the key findings of the survey included:-

• Conservatives take majority vote. In contrast to current polls, the political swing was hugely in favour of the Conservative Party who gained almost 4 times as many votes as Labour and the Liberal Democrats. This echoed the response that showed that almost 45% of businesses felt that they had performed worse in the last 12 months.

• Payroll tax cut critical. A cut in payroll taxes was a significant incentive for businesses to increase headcount. 50% showed a willingness to increase staff levels if a cut was made.

• Call for increased funding. Increased funding and the extension of credit was seen as hugely important. 78% felt that increased funding was critical.

• Increase to payroll taxes very negative to business. Any increase in payroll taxes was identified as detrimental to business with 42% replying that they would not be able to increase headcount, 44% indicating that profits would be impacted upon and 29% thought they may have to make redundancies to offset the increase.

• Credit flow – key economic policy. When asked what economic policies would have the greatest impact, 28% of respondents felt that getting credit flowing again was key. Decreasing payroll tax was also important at 25%.

• Business drives political choices. Politics and business are clearly intertwined. 74% of respondents again echoed the fact that their business practice drove their political opinion.

• 43% to vote Conservative. Who will you be voting for in the General Election? The Conservative Party came out as the winner for SMEs winners with 43% of the vote with the Liberal Democrats and Labour trailing with 13% and 10% respectively.

Please visit our site to see the full results of Touch Financial’s “Your Business/Your Opinion – General Election” Survey

ABOUT THE SURVEY
Touch Financial conducted a survey of 17,000 small and medium-sized businesses via email in two weeks of April 2010, generating 286 responses. Respondents represented a diverse demographic, with multiple responses from each industry, region and turnover band, with 97% of respondents having a turnover of under £5m.

Read a summarised version of the main political parties’ manifestos and the issues affecting small businesses at

ABOUT TOUCH FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Touch Financial is the UK’s largest independent invoice finance broker, helping over 600 businesses a month explore their finance and recovery options.

Working with a panel of over 20 lenders, Touch pride themselves on finding customers the right solution for their business. Touch also have access to preferential rates and special offers.

The service Touch offer is completely free with no hidden fees. This is achievable as they receive commission for successfully introducing customers to the lenders.

CONTACT

For more information please contact Daniel Bunyan on 020 7510 0033, by email on daniel@touchfinancial.co.uk or visit Touch Financial

About Touch Financial:
Touch Financial is the UK’s largest independent invoice finance broker, helping over 600 businesses a month explore their finance and recovery options.

Working with a panel of over 20 lenders, Touch pride themselves on finding customers the right solution for their business. Touch also have access to preferential rates and special offers.

Company Contact Information
Touch Financial
Daniel Bunyan
Cairngorm House,Meridian Gate
London
E14 9YT
Phone : +44 845 388 9725