Collaborate UK

working with SMEs

Now in its seventh year, our Collaborate series continues to keep us informed on current trends influencing the UK’s SME community as well as ongoing changes within the political landscape. This analysis enables us to tap into what small business owners are thinking, gathering insight to show our understanding of the small business sector.
Since the birth of our research, our intention has always been to connect these businesses together by endorsing a collaborative business approach.

Download our latest whitepaper to uncover the voices and opinions of SME owners across the UK and discover their thoughts on Brexit, supply chain and logistics, and sustainability.   

Collaborate UK 2018 - Volume VI

The sixth report in our series learns that SME confidence has increased in the face of rising concerns over Brexit however, the majority of SMEs had done nothing to prepare for the proposed Brexit date.

The results also showed that small business owners care about the environment but didn’t feel there was enough government support or incentives to become more environmentally friendly. Technology on the other hand is rated highly despite only a few businesses investing in new tech.

Collaborate UK 2017 - Volume V

The UK is in the midst of negotiations for its withdrawal from the EU – without doubt the precursor to one of the most significant changes to the way businesses operate in the UK for at least a generation. Caution is in the air as issues like Brexit make it harder to see what their future holds.


Despite uncertainty, there remains no shortage of ambition, with many of those we spoke to already preparing for a post-Brexit landscape. Many are looking to international trade – including within Europe – as a key component of their growth strategy. How will UK SMEs plan to push forward and prosper?

Collaborate UK 2016 - Volume IV

Overall it’s clear that, despite bearing up well over the previous year, small and medium sized businesses were worried about the impact of Brexit on their future performance.

The results of Collaborate UK 2016 showed that there was significant confusion and huge variation across the country, and that devolved nations have a particularly high level of anxiety about what Brexit will mean for their business.

Collaborate UK 2015 - Volume III

The third report in the series, Collaborate UK questioned more than 1,000 small firms and found that talk of ‘Brexit’ was causing bosses considerable concern, with exports, the strength of the pound and customer demand on their minds.

Collaboration remained a key business survival tool for smaller employers in response to these threats; 85% of the UK’s SMEs (some 4.5 million) were collaborating with other businesses, sharing skills, expertise and mutual networks to drive their business forward. 

Collaborate UK 2014 - Volume II

With things looking up for the ecomony, the 2014 report painted a more confident and optimistic picture. Having weathered the recession, many smaller businesses – the backbone of the UK economy – told us that they were finding new and more innovative ways to take advantage of green shoots and prosper.

With that being said, our findings suggested a ‘confidence divide’ with almost half of those surveyed claiming they were still in ‘survival mode’ and were yet to benefit from the returning confidence of the recovery.

Collaborate UK 2013 - Volume I

The UK's first report into collaboration amongst SMEs demonstrated how businesses were responding to the tough economic conditions and technological advances from recent years, and what impact this was having on collaboration between one another.

The extent and scale of this transformation in the UK was remarkable, and to see how collaboration could play a key role was truly fascinating.