The percentage of small businesses based in Yorkshire and Humberside working on initiatives to power future growth has fallen sharply from 72% to 53% since the start of the year – and is well below the national average of 65% - according to research from Novuna Business Finance.

The national tracking study of a representative sample of 1,235 small business owners also revealed significant sector falls (compared to Q1 2025) in manufacturing (down from 83% to 69%), transport and distribution (down from 76% to 73%), real estate (from 72% to 44%), media (falling from 86% to 61%).

Significantly, over the last decade, Novuna’s data has revealed that low-points in small business growth forecasts were usually offset by resilience for the longer-term, with enterprises working on initiatives to secure future growth. This quarter, and for the first time, there are falls on both counts. Following Novuna data earlier in the month - which revealed a five-year low in the percentage of Yorkshire and Humberside enterprises currently forecasting growth (19%) - the number of small businesses in the region working on initiatives to secure future growth for the longer-term is also down, hitting a nine-year low.

Percentage of Yorkshire and Humberside-based small businesses working on longer term growth plans: Results over time

Q3 2016	Q3 2017	Q3 2018	Q3 2019	Q3 2020	Q3 2021	Q3 2022	Q3 2023	Q3 2024	Q3 2025
61%	57%	76%	72%	82%	77%	76%	71%	58%	53%

Of those businesses in Yorkshire and Humberside that were working on initiatives to unlock future growth potential, the most common steps taken were largely defensive measures to control spiralling costs and cashflow. Initiatives backed included:keeping fixed costs down (58%), improving cash flow (33%) and tackling late payments (37%) – although, across all these areas, there was no significant improvement on the position in 2024.

The more expansive initiatives that small businesses in the region were most likely to be working on included: hiring more people (22%), Investing in new machinery and equipment (20%) and expanding into new overseas markets (14%).

Top initiatives to secure future growth: Results over time

	Q3 2025	Q3 2024
Keeping fixed costs down	58%	60%
Tackling late payment	37%	30%
Improving cash flow	33%	25%
Hiring more people	22%	23%
Investing in new machinery and equipment	20%	11%
Expanding into new overseas markets -	14%	26%
Reassessing finance commitments	10%	11%
Streamlining supply chain	7%	12%

Joanna Morris, Head of Insight at Novuna Business Finance commented: “After the surge in small business confidence this time last year, there has been a regional slide in the percentage of business owners predicting growth for four consecutive quarters. Across Yorkshire and Humberside, the fall in the percentage of small businesses offsetting this by working on new projects to unlock future growth potential is a concern. We have seen from our research over the last 12-months that geo-political uncertainty is impacting small business confidence together with high running costs and fears over tax rises later this year.”

“One positive we take from this quarter’s findings is an upturn in the percentage of small businesses that are using this uncertain period to reassess their finance commitments to free up working capital – a trend that is up across six industry sectors this quarter. At Novuna Business Finance, we provide flexible, tailored financial solutions to help established small businesses to plan for long-term growth and transformation – enabling them to realise their full potential.”