The Great British Business report from HSBC Commercial Banking and trends researchers The Next Big Thing, claims new business trends and ways of working are developing in post-recession UK.

The report investigates how UK plc (and SME) has evolved over time and identifies what businesspeople of today and tomorrow can learn from history. It finds that the qualities current business leaders cite as central to historical British business success – including innovation (44%), the ability to trade internationally (33%), entrepreneurialism (33%) and adaptability (26%) – remain constant today.

As the face of British business changes at an accelerated pace over the next five years, the report identifies that successful UK companies will adopt and adapt core strengths and make them relevant to today and tomorrow. The 500 respondents questioned said that the two most important qualities for British companies going forward are the ability to innovate (51%) and adaptability (43%), with the report summarising that: “Tomorrow’s successful business person will actually need many of the same qualities that have made British business great in the past.””