Home topics news Source: Arlington Research on Unsplash News News Survey highlights poor health rating for a third of regional SMEs Yajush Gupta January 11, 2024 New research from Australia’s leading online small business lender, Prospa , reveals that small businesses outside of Australia’s capital cities are slated to be hit financially, with a third rating their overall business health in the current landscape as poor. The new findings come from the latest “SME Sentiment Report” conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Prospa which surveyed around 500 small business owners and primary decision makers across Australia. The report highlights growing concerns from the small business community on their business viability heading into the busy holiday period, and a yawning financial gap between metropolitan and regional businesses due to economic pressures. “The data underscores the disproportionate impact on businesses based outside of major metro areas, particularly concerning stark increases to goods and services costs,” said Beau Bertoli, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Prospa. “On top of ongoing labour shortages and soaring energy bills, the upcoming closure of postal branches in some regional areas could add to inflationary pressures. As a result, nearly nine in ten regional small businesses have shared with us that they have concerns going into the holiday period.” Small businesses outside of major capital cities bearing the brunt Over two in five (43 per cent) regional businesses say they don’t feel optimistic about the economic outlook for the next 12 months. When comparing outlook between metro and