It appears that entrepreneurs, having survived the pandemic, want to focus hard on building their business even if this can take a toll on their health, according to a survey of UK attitudes.

A study of more than 350 business owners in the UK reveals that they are prepared to push ahead business growth even if it puts their personal health on the line.

This finding, from Arrowpoint Advisory, a middle-market team of Rothschild & Co in the UK, said that business owners put business growth as a high priority even though 93 per cent of them said that the pandemic caused them to re-assess their relationship with their own business.

Some 89 per cent of business owners said they would delay selling their business if it would generate a greater financial return, even if it was at the detriment of their health. Of this cohort, 35 per cent strongly agreed that they would delay the sale of their business.

Only 9 per cent of owners would consider their energy level, enthusiasm or health when it came to considering when to sell their business.

“While the pandemic has led many business owners to question the relationship that they have with their businesses, there is a clear determination from entrepreneurs that having survived the pandemic, they must now put their efforts into building their businesses, and the resulting value despite this coming potentially at a personal cost,” Jeremy Furniss, managing director at Arrowpoint Advisory, said. 

The Heart of the Deal report surveyed people with businesses valued between £10 million and £200 million across financial services, business services, manufacturing, media, technology, and healthcare sectors on the impact of COVID-19 and its influence on their motivations, perspectives on business ownership, hopes, concerns and plans for the future.

Such findings cast light on the mentality of entrepreneurs as the pandemic begins – hopefully – to move away. Wealth managers are considering how business owners will behave more than two years after the COVID-19 crisis erupted. Already, a common refrain is that the virus has accelerated conversations about succession planning, financial preparedness, and the “work-life” balance. 

The authors of the report noted that it is not just health that must be considered when it comes to selling a business; 90 per cent of owners said they would bring forward the sale of their business should there be an increase in capital gains tax. Some 86 per cent of owners said that a favourable CGT rate was an important factor in their decision to build their business, or any future one.

“Perhaps, unsurprisingly, for many owners the decision to sell their business is driven by the desire to achieve personal financial security. However, since our last report, it’s clear that more entrepreneurs are determined to build businesses to create opportunity for those around them,” Furniss said.