Back in May 2019, Hardman & Co and the Quoted Companies Alliance jointly published a paper looking at the importance of small and mid-size quoted companies (SMQCs) to the markets, and their contribution to tax revenues and employment in the UK. This is a poorly researched area, and that paper helped frame the debate; it has been quoted from by bodies such as the City of London Corporation.
Three years have passed since that note, and we felt it was time to update the work. Of course, the economic and business conditions in which we find ourselves today are very different from the pre-pandemic world of 2019. This makes comparisons between then and now particularly troublesome. Nevertheless, we felt the time had come for a review.
Politicians and business leaders often refer to SMQCs as being pivotal to the future of the British economy, but the definition of “small and mid-size” can cover a huge range of companies, and the difference between the UK’s largest companies and the rest is stark, as we present in this paper.
Download the full report