Alliance & Leicester: SMEs will spend freely during holidays

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Alliance & Leicester: SMEs will spend freely during holidays

Tue 18th Dec 2007

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will - or have already started to - spend freely on parties and gifts for employees during the festive period, a new survey has found.

According to Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, 30 per cent of SMEs are prepared to shut down operations earlier than unusual, while 24 per cent will spend cash on gifts for clients.

Just over ten per cent are willing spend money on staff gifts, while 22 per cent will finance a Christmas party.

Steve Jennings, director of business banking at Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, which provides free business current accounts, said the results of the survey are "really positive".

"It shows that SMEs recognise the importance of building long-term customer relationships and rewarding their employees for their contribution over the last 12 months," he added.

New research from Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank has discovered that more than 500,000 SMEs will pay out end-of-year staff bonuses this Christmas.

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