Good news for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK making use of worldwide courier services to ship their goods day in day out – last year saw smaller companies enjoy a six per cent increase in total payments from Europe compared with the year before.
This is according to Barclays’ latest Business Abroad Index, which found that there was also a rise in UK exports to China, with 2015 seeing a 21 per cent hike compared with 2014, Fresh Business Thinking reports.
Germany emerged as the top export market for SMEs in the UK in the year leading up to December, followed by France and the US.
Head of international for business banking at Barclays Steve Childs said: “British products and services are in demand, and exploring overseas avenues delivers huge growth potential. The first port of call when considering exporting is identifying a target market and researching it thoroughly; learning the culture, economic and political environment, customs, market, how business is conducted and most importantly, the competition.”
This comes after Barclays revealed back in January that it has entered into a partnership with UK Trade & Investment to help support British exports, as well as foreign companies looking to invest in the country.
The coalition will help businesses to export, no matter their size, as well as providing a range of support, training and inward investment. Barclays itself has pledged to hit a number of different targets, including offering support to 15,000 new exporters in the next five years.