As businesses battle a growing number of issues, from costs inflation to wage rises, there is one issue that remains their biggest concern.

Some 78 per cent of small business owners said productivity concerns was their biggest worry, according to new research by Simply Asset Finance.

The survey of over XXX small firms also found that 74 per cent were also worried about rising operational costs, while 70 per cent feared further supply chain issues.

NEED QUOTES ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY FROM RANDALL

Is this productivity of UK staff? Productivity in what sense?

And more on productivity in general … there rest of the story talked about finance?

However, despite concerns about productivity, Mike Randall, chief executive at Simply Asset Finance, said there is still “growth on the horizon” for many SMEs, despite the “unparalleled hardship” faced over the years.

On Monday, new data revealed that small business confidence was growing — although still remaining in negative territory.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses’ third-quarter Small Business Index, confidence was at -8 points in the three months quarter ending in September — up from -14.2 in the previous quarter but still worse than the first quarter’s -2.8.