Scottish firms ‘embattled yet resilient’ as four in five fear over survival
“The survey provides a snapshot of business owners’ perspectives on the market, with only a couple of months to go until the Scottish election” – Ritchie Whyte, Aberdein Considine
Four in five of Scotland’s small and mid-sized businesses are concerned about their survival amid a sharp drop in optimism, a report today suggests.
Edinburgh’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the least confident of the country’s major cities as business viability concerns remain high nationwide, according to research from legal firm Aberdein Considine.
It shows that concerns about business survival have continued into 2026, with 81 per cent of SMEs across Scotland saying their viability is at risk. The research was carried out by Censuswide on behalf of the law firm as a follow-up to its 2025 SME Business Outlook survey.
Among Scotland’s key population centres, 84 per cent of SME owners in Edinburgh and the Lothians reported concerns about their survival over the year ahead, compared with 82 per cent in Aberdeen and the North-east, and 75 per cent in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
In addition to concerns about viability, the proportion of Scottish SMEs feeling optimistic about their own sector in the year ahead has fallen sharply, dropping from 83 per cent last year to 50 per cent in 2026.
Despite the slump in overall optimism, the latest report points to a more favourable view of the Scottish government than previously, with four in five SMEs saying the impact of the 2026 Scottish Budget - announced in January - will be positive for their business. This marks a notable shift from 2025, when more than a third of businesses (37 per cent) identified Scottish government policy changes as their biggest barrier to growth.
Respondents pointed to several obstacles to business confidence, with more than a third (35 per cent) citing supply chain disruptions as their biggest financial challenge in the next 12 months (up from 23 per cent the previous year). Staff recruitment and retention costs were also noted as a significant cost pressure, with 33 per cent identifying them as a major fiscal challenge, up from 19 per cent in 2025.
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Ritchie Whyte, partner and head of the corporate and business advisory team at Aberdein Considine, said: “If we had to describe the current status of Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community in just three words, it would be ‘embattled yet resilient’. The survey, which builds on our research from last year, provides a snapshot of business owners’ perspectives on the market, with only a couple of months to go until the Scottish election.”
Meanwhile, another new report out today shows that financial and related professional services exports from Scotland grew by 16.3 per cent to reach £12 billion in 2023 - the latest period covered by available data.
The study by TheCityUK also reveals that in 2023, almost half (49 per cent) the industry’s exports originated outside London, with Scotland accounting for 6.9 per cent of these exports and ranking as the second largest exporting region and nation outside London.
It showed that all British regions and nations continued to have trade surpluses in financial services in 2023.
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