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UK exporters set their sights on new markets in 2023

13 December 2022

A survey of UK SME exporters has found that just over half have ambitious plans to enter new global markets in the next 12 months.

New research, conducted by Opinium for American Express, has found that half (51%) of UK small and medium-sized businesses already operating internationally plan to enter new global markets in the next 12 months.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of SMEs report that they plan to diversify the markets they trade with. European countries, including France, Germany and Spain, top the list of targets for expansion. Many firms are also looking across the Atlantic, with 20% identifying the United States as a target market.

Building business resilience by exporting

Almost three-quarters (73%) of firms polled said that doing business internationally creates resilience by providing protection from changing domestic market conditions. In fact, 57% said that they see greater returns from international trade than from within the UK. This is likely due to the global market being inherently larger than the UK alone.

However, 85% of respondents stated that the recent fluctuation in the value of Sterling has caused some disruption to their business. The impact has been particularly felt by those importing:

  • 69% say that foreign exchange (FX) volatility can have a huge impact on their profit margins;
  • 41% said that it has caused "significant" disruption;
  • 65% said that the recent Sterling fluctuations have had a negative impact on their cashflow.

Despite this, 49% of SMEs either don't have a proactive strategy in place for managing FX volatility or aren't sure if they do - with exporters being the least likely to have a strategy in place.

"Currency rates never stand still, so it's important for businesses to take a proactive approach"

The findings also show that 57% of internationally trading SMEs say that taking a more proactive approach to managing foreign exchange volatility earlier in the previous 12 months would have benefitted their business.

"Trading internationally continues to offer many fruitful growth opportunities for UK businesses - and it's positive to see that so many plan to expand in the year ahead," said Harry Mole, vice president and general manager of cross-border B2B payments at American Express.

"But currency rates never stand still, so it's important for businesses to take a proactive approach. Working with a partner with established expertise that can offer bespoke strategies for success and get more from their transactions is paramount. This is particularly the case for busy SMEs, whose time is better spent focusing on the bigger picture - such as which market they should break into next."

The rising cost of trading overseas

While the vast majority (84%) of SMEs operating internationally say that they feel at least "somewhat confident" trading with overseas markets, 77% agreed that the cost of doing business internationally has risen over the past 12 months.

Mole added: "Keeping close to the market and utilising services like Forward Contracts and Market Orders for their payments allows small businesses to get on the front foot. By booking trades in advance or buying at a pre-agreed rate, these measures provide a crucial layer of security to help SMEs weather market volatility storms."

Written by Rachel Miller.