Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are surviving longer than ever before, according to one expert.
A spokesman for Lloyds TSB claims that the rate of closure for SMEs within the first three years has been dropping and that the number of new start-ups has also continued to rise.
Stephen Pegge, head of communications for Lloyds TSB, said that the number of businesses failing to survive the first three years had previously reached around 40 per cent but advised that this figure had fallen.
"So the businesses that are starting up seem to be surviving longer. We're seeing a net growth in the number of small businesses in the market place which is good news," he said.
Earlier this month Tanya Hine of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs said that new business entrepreneurs were failing to focus on the "gain all" before the "lose all".
She added that taking chances may be easier for some than others but that all SMEs should be careful on how positively or negatively they view risk.
