Small businesses showed resilience through recessions, says senior banker

A banking expert has praised the resilience of small businesses through the recession and the way in which many new small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are now flourishing.

The Barclays Trading Place Awards will take place at The Savoy in November, recognising the businesses that have battled against the odds and succeeded through the economic hardships.

A prize of £10,000 will be awarded to the winner and, with nominations are now being accepted, Steve Cooper, managing director of Barclays Business, has explained why he has been so impressed.

He said: "We have been surprised actually by how resilient the SME market has been. We have seen far fewer business failings that we were expecting, and we have seen more people starting up their own business than we were expecting to.

"We helped 10,000 people start up in business last month, and we have never done as many as that in any month."

Mr Cooper also noted that more young people and women have been trying to set up their own businesses, often inspired by shows such as The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den.

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