Elevator survey reveals Scotland’s SMEs are adopting AI, hiring, and hungry for more support.

Elevator survey reveals two-thirds of SMEs want more external support

• 40 per cent of SMEs say access to finance is biggest roadblock to growth, followed by talent (27 per cent)
• 3 out of 4 Scottish SMEs are using AI, over half plan to invest in tech
• 72 per cent of SMEs said their running costs have increased this year, but 49 per cent still plan to hire over the next twelve months
• In spite of challenges, the vast majority of Scottish SMEs are confident about business prospects
• 80 per cent cite importance of local community to business success

DUNDEE, Scotland, 24 November 2025 – A survey of SMEs across Scotland has found business owners to be in confident mood despite rising costs and funding challenges. The SME survey by Elevator also reveals that Scotland’s SMEs are adopting AI, hiring, and hungry for more support.

Elevator found that 2 out of 3 business owners want more external support with their business, with only half having accessed external finance. 40 per cent of SMEs say access to finance is their biggest roadblock to growth, followed by talent (27 per cent). The survey found that 74 per cent of SMEs in Scotland are already using AI in their business, while 55 per cent plan to invest in innovation and new technology.

72 per cent of SMEs said their running costs have increased this year, but almost half (49 per cent) still plan to hire over the next twelve months. 80 per cent of SMEs cited the importance of local community to the success of their business.

The inaugural SME survey by business support organisation Elevator found that, in spite of growth challenges, 75 per cent of respondents are either “extremely confident” or “somewhat confident” about their business prospects in the year ahead.

Elevator CEO Rachel Ross said: “While it’s encouraging to see the level of confidence in the Scottish SME sector, the survey has also revealed that the nation’s SME leaders want more external support, and that there are national disparities. Crucially, access to finance and understanding finance options remains a serious issue for businesses across the country.”

Nicola McCabe, Operational Director at Dundee-headquartered It Group Electrical Services, said: “Like many SMEs, we’ve benefited from external support programmes, which has helped us scale from a single engineer to a team of nine in almost three years. Access to the right guidance and growth support has been instrumental in shaping our trajectory.”

Kate Hooper, Managing Director and Founder of Inverness-based Strategy Story, a leadership and communications agency, said: “After seven years in business, 2025 brought an intense period of business development, fuelled by external training and innovation support. As a result, we enter 2025 stronger than ever, with big ambitions and firm foundations, while staying deeply connected to the community we love.”

Sam Gray, Co-founder and CTO at Fort William-headquartered Energy Mutual, an online platform that supports distributed energy owners and energy managers worldwide, said: “There is a fantastic SME support community in Scotland that has been instrumental in getting us where we are today. Elevator, via the Shell LiveWire programme, provided us with connections, education, and funding, while Techscaler’s Silicon Valley mission gave us global ambition and fresh perspectives on artificial intelligence.”

Graham Ramsay, Director at Lochgilphead-based Midton Acrylics, a design and manufacturing firm that includes BrewDog, Formula 1, Johnnie Walker, Manchester City, Red Bull, Universal Music, and Virgin among its customer base, said: “As a growing SME, we’re hugely optimistic about the year ahead – particularly as we have embedded AI and new technologies into our processes, freeing our team up to focus on creativity, innovation, and delivering even more value to our clients.”

Nassima Brown, Strategy Director at Aberdeen-headquartered Fennex, which exports its safety management technology worldwide, said: “Aberdeen has been the launchpad for Fennex’s success. Winning the King’s Award for Enterprise underscores the global impact of our digital safety technologies, now used across more than 20 countries. As we scale into renewables and aim to double the business over the next three years, a strong local ecosystem will be vital to accelerating growth and showcasing what world-class AI and digital tech innovation from the North East can achieve.”

60 per cent of respondents said grants are their primary source of external finance, 21 per cent said debt finance, with 14 per cent securing equity finance as their primary source. 43 per cent have received support from Business Gateway, 28 per cent from Scottish Enterprise, 13 per cent from Scottish Government, 11 per cent from UK Government, and 6 per cent from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

51 per cent of respondents said their revenue increased in their last financial year, while 23 per cent said their revenue decreased, and 26 per cent said revenue stayed at a similar level. Around 40 per cent of Scottish SMEs export outside the UK, with Europe the top export region ahead of North America and Asia.

83 per cent said they don’t have a CFO, 75 per cent don’t have a company board, while 85 per cent said they don’t have a NXD.

On the importance of local community to business success, around 80 per cent of Scottish SMEs said local community was “extremely important” or “somewhat important” to the success of their business. 92 per cent said they believe entrepreneurship can build community wealth in Scotland.

It Group Electrical Service’s Nicola McCabe said: “Our local community plays a central role in our success, and we see firsthand how strong local entrepreneurship creates opportunities, builds trust, and drives standards across the industry.”

Rachel Ross added: “Community and the role of entrepreneurship in building community wealth is overwhelmingly important to our SMEs in Scotland, and we think that is one the most interesting findings to come out of our survey.”

Asked what impact stronger local entrepreneurship would have in their area, Scottish SME leaders said more local jobs (77 per cent), more opportunities for young people (68 per cent), increased local pride and confidence (62 per cent), better local services (57 per cent), and stronger local supply chains (55 per cent).

To find out more about the survey and to download the results report, please visit: www.elevatoruk.com/survey.