Business confidence has hit a 20 year high, fuelling hopes of continued growth in the first half of 2014, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
The twice yearly report, now in its 22nd year, tracks businesses’ views of expected sales, orders and profits and canvasses the views of 1,500 UK businesses; the latest report shows that firms are continuing to grow in confidence, driven by expectations of stronger profits, orders and sales over the next six months.
And the future is looking brighter not only for companies across the UK, but also in the North West where 64% of Northern businesses said they are more optimistic than they were six months ago, and less than 8% said they are less so.
Regional director for SME banking Leigh Taylor said:
“This is an encouraging improvement in confidence as we start 2014 and we hope that it will lead to a sustainable UK recovery allowing Northern businesses to grow and prosper.”
Download a full copy of the report here
Respondents were also more confident about export prospects, and were expecting to hire more staff in the coming months. Business investment is also expected to rise with a quarter saying they planned to increase capital expenditure. Some 11% expected to cut back.