Scottish business owners over-working and under-paying themselves

The figure is below the UK average of £96,000 and less than half the average salary enjoyed by chief executives of companies on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), and accountancy firm Haines Watt, which carried out the survey, says UK business owners are putting their wealth at risk by paying themselves modestly in favour of investing heavily in their business.

The study reveals that the average UK company owner earns under £96,000 per annum and devotes up to £120,890 in high-risk financial investments such as stocks and shares.

Haines Watt said its findings highlighted how Scottish business owners are leaving cash in their businesses in the hope of driving longer term growth at their firms.

More than half (54 per cent) of company owners were also found to believe that their business could not survive for longer than a week without them, while a quarter believe it would crash and burn within the first three days of their absence.

However, UK business owners aren’t even reaping the rewards for their hard work but instead denying themselves luxuries in favour of a more conservative lifestyle.

Just 16 per cent of UK business owners drive a brand new car, a mere 2 per cent have a nanny and 3 per cent have a home gym, Haines Watt found.

The survey also discovered that owner managers are taking significant risks by being over-reliant on a single customer, supplier, member of staff or their own availability.

More than half of Scottish company owners said they have a major supplier they could not survive without, and most owners said their main customer contributes a third or more of annual revenues.

Across the UK as a whole, more than half of business owners have a main supplier that they could not survive without, while 43 per cent say they have a major customer that they rely on.

78 per cent would even say their main customer contributes a third or more of their overall revenue and half of those surveyed admit that their business could not survive without a key member of staff.

Managing partner at Haines Watts Peter Bancroft said: “Our study reveals that company owners are gambling their wealth on their business, leaving their financial security hanging in the balance. This is surprising given how hard they work to generate that wealth in the first place and the obvious risks involved.”