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The Productive Business Index

The Productive Business Index

Unlock what really drives SME performance

21.11.25

The PBI isn’t just another SME survey; it’s the most credible, data-rich view of what’s really driving small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.

SMEs are the engine of the UK economy. Yet, many corporate teams still struggle to access the insights needed to understand the real factors behind SME decisions, behaviours, and buying patterns.

Developed by Ipsos in partnership with Be the Business, the PBI delivers data-led, up-to-date intelligence on what SMEs are thinking, planning, and prioritising and the challenges they face as they look to grow.

Whether you're selling, partnering, investing, or designing solutions for SMEs, the PBI helps you move faster, think deeper, and stay ahead.

The Latest Findings:

In this 8th edition of the PBYI (Q3 2025), we are seeing a different, more nuanced story. After over a decade of near constant challenges, the data suggests that business leaders are emerging stronger and are determined to take decisive action to boost productivity.

Explore the latest infographic →

Flexible access to meet your needs:

Comprehensive dataset access: Get full access to the data collected as part of the standard PBI report.

Enhanced analytics: Benefit from additional analysis and deeper exploration of the existing dataset to uncover new insights.

Customisation: Add your own tailored questions during the standard PBI data collection to address specific business needs.

Insight events: Participate in exclusive events designed to unpack findings from the PBI and discuss their real-world implications.

Consulting support: Leverage our experts for data interpretation, application of insights, and strategic consulting from BtB based on PBI findings.

Sample plug-in access: Utilise the PBI script on a sample plug-in basis for further analysis or testing.

Flexible sponsorship options allow you to choose from any combination of the above components with the opportunity to renew every six months.

Methodology

PBI subscribers benefit from Ipsos’s global research expertise and Be the Business’s deep understanding of SME productivity and growth. This latest edition introduces a new methodology and a robust sample of 1,000 decision-makers at UK companies with 2-249 employees, surveyed online on biannually basis.

The PBI scoring system ranges from 0 to 100, with anything above 50 indicating positive sentiment. Data has been carefully weighted by industry and region to ensure national representativeness.