Nearly three in four UK scale-up founders fear the Iran war dragging on will negatively affect their business, according to new research from Helm.
When 400 members of Helm, the UK’s largest community of scale-up founders, were asked in an online survey: ‘Are you worried that the Iran war dragging on will negatively affect your business?’ 72 per cent said ‘yes’, 7 per cent said ‘no’, and 21 per cent said ‘don’t know’.
The survey carried out between March 20-23 also asked: ‘Are you worried that energy price rises will cut your profitability or slow your growth?’ with 57 per cent saying ‘yes’, 36 per cent saying ‘no’, and 7 per cent saying ‘don’t know’.
Asked: ‘Has the Iran war exposed vulnerabilities in your supply chain?’ 14 per cent said ‘yes’, 11 per cent said ‘no’, and 75 per cent said ‘don’t know’.
Andreas Adamides, CEO of Helm, said: “The Iran war and spiralling energy prices are the final straw for many founders already operating under the weight of historic cost pressures. With 72% of our members now bracing for a direct hit to their business because of the conflict, this is an urgent warning that the Government cannot afford to ignore.”
“Ministers must act now to ease the burden and support those who are the UK’s primary engine for growth. We need more than just warm words; we need decisive support with energy costs and supply chain resilience to protect margins and stabilise the business landscape.
“If the Government fails to back firms during this crisis, they risk stalling the very businesses meant to power our economic recovery.”
The average Helm member is the founder of a company with an annual turnover of £21 million.
For more info, visit: www.helmclub.coIran
