New research aims to shed light on the evolving economic landscape and changing priorities, revealing the key business habits of UK companies and contains some surprising findings.
The Soldo report, which looked at the spending habits of 24,000 UK businesses, found that despite continuing economic constraints, companies are looking to improve their sustainability credentials, with spending related to green initiatives increasing. It is said that it will steadily increase in 2023.
While the sectors that have seen so much spending may be surprising, Mr Soludo admitted that UK businesses are still tracking every dollar spent as they continue to face the threat of business failure.
UK businesses are increasing their spending on travel
Since the pandemic, electric cars have become much more mainstream in the UK, with electric car salary sacrifice deals increasing by 68%. As a result, businesses are also increasingly using electric vehicle charging stations. In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, Sordo also cited tax incentives that are encouraging more companies to go green.
The company also revealed that business travel is on the rise, with businesses spending 17% more on rail travel and 7% more on air travel in 2023 compared to the previous year.
“Despite the economic challenges we face, companies are starting to increase spending and focus on supporting their employees and addressing sustainability initiatives,” said Brandon Till, Director of Business Solutions. It's especially reassuring to have him there.”
Last year, companies also set aside money to spend on talent retention, acquisition and employee benefits. Rewarding employees is proven to improve resilience, engagement and performance, and budgets for this area are likely to increase every year.
Although the report's results were positive, Sordo pointed out some important areas for improvement. Expense and reimbursement processes can be simplified, and automation can eliminate repetitive administrative tasks.
