Following the pandemic, small and medium-sized businesses in the UK were facing unprecedented waters.

To help launch AXA Business’ yearly SME competition — Start up Angels — we conducted research into the state of SMEs around the country. Working in partnership with CEBR, we asked 1,000 business owners around the country how they faired during 2020, diving into how they financed their business, their entrepreneurial motivators, and what they loved about running a small business.

Consumer Research Report

From there, working with digital mapping agency Lumilinks, we turned our findings into interactive heat maps, allowing users to see the visible differences in how the pandemic impacted businesses in different parts of the country. All the findings and static versions of the heat maps were compiled into the Small Businesses: The Big Picture Report, providing an in-depth look at the UK’s small and medium businesses.

Below are a selection of spreads from the report. A full version of the report can be found here.

Media Coverage