Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Wales have higher levels of confidence than their UK counterparts, despite challenging business conditions and increasing uncertainty of UK and global economic prospects, according to the first annual report published by Economic Intelligence Wales (EIW).

The new research unit is a collaboration between Cardiff Business School, the Office for National Statistics and the Development Bank of Wales, created to monitor the activity of Welsh SMEs, factors affecting their development and the progress of the regional economy.

The development bank announced in May that it invested £80 million into SMEs in 2018/19 which is an increase of nearly 18% on the previous financial year. This is a strong demonstration of a growing appetite for investment, reflected in the increase in the number of Welsh SMEs using external finance which is 5% higher than the UK average.