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Bowmark Entrepreneurs’ Index - July 2008

The mood of small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK has changed dramatically in the past six months, according to the second issue of the Bowmark Entrepreneurs’ Index. The Index is a survey of directors of small to medium-sized businesses in the UK. In the wake of the credit crunch and worsening economic outlook, these entrepreneurial bosses have become distinctly gloomy.

Highlights

• the Optimism Index (below), measuring how positive respondents are about their own businesses, has dropped nearly 10 points in six months to 66.7, with an even gloomier mood about their own industries - a near 17 point decline, and entrepreneurial businesses generally - down almost 13 points;
• government intervention and legislation have overtaken skill shortages as the biggest obstacles to growth. Seventy per cent cited these as a burden, up from 56 per cent last time;
• a third of respondents said rising energy prices had a negative impact on their business; and
• around a quarter of companies said the

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Bowmark Capital was established in 1997. The firm specialises in investments in smaller UK companies. Bowmark manages and advises funds totalling £700m on behalf of an investor base including public pension funds, insurance companies and banks from the UK, US and Europe. For more information go to www.bowmark.com