The latest OxTalks podcast – the new series powered by OxLEP – is now available to watch or listen.
In this episode – which is the fifth in this series – OxTalks looks into the importance of SMEs for both the Oxfordshire and UK economies.
Small and medium-sized businesses are the ‘engine room’ of the UK economy and it is of vital importance that they continue to be backed.
They account for around 99% of the business population in the UK and – although that drops to just under 90% in the city of Oxford itself, attributed by Oxford City Council to the lack of workspace available for start-ups – SMEs still play a very critical role in Oxfordshire.
Nationally, SMEs employed nearly 16.5 million people and in 2022 had a turnover of £2.1 trillion, which is just over half of the UK's total according to government figures.
In this edition of OxTalks, host Howard Bentham is joined by Emma Gibson – South Hub and Reading Office Senior Partner at KPMG Law (covering the Thames Valley) – to discuss the importance of providing support to small businesses, particularly in the current economic market, as well as the role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) in business growth, plus SMEs being able to create a legacy.
OxLEP’s Rob Panting also features in this episode, outlining the support delivered to the Oxfordshire SME community by the organisation.
WATCH: OxTalks – series one, episode five: 'Backing business, right now'
OxTalks and is recorded at the Oxford studios of Story Ninety-Four.
