Trump's Iran war crippling 1 in 3 small UK businesses – true damage revealed

Trump's Iran war crippling 1 in 3 small UK businesses – true damage revealedOne in three small businesses say the impact of overseas conflict on energy and fuel prices in the UK is now a serious concern for them. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Jennifer Pinto, Audience writer 05:21, Fri, May 29, 2026 The impact of rising energy and fuel prices is not being felt evenly across the UK (Image: Getty)More than one in three UK small businesses are reporting that rising energy and fuel costs are actively holding back growth, as new research highlights worsening conditions driven by global geopolitical uncertainty. New research from Novuna Business Finance found that the percentage of UK small businesses citing barriers holding their business back from growing has hit a six-year peak (84%), with the impact of overseas conflict on energy and fuel prices in the UK now a serious concern for over one in three enterprises. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) The findings from Novuna Business Finance show that geopolitical uncertainty is dominating the disruption felt by small business owners this spring and actually proving to be even far more significant than local or immediate market challenges. The most significant barriers to growth cited included macro-economic uncertainty (51%), rising oil prices (32%) and as a consequence higher running costs (31%). Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get personal finance news, money saving tips and advice p...