Two-thirds of UK businesses worried about this quarter’s outlook
Figures released today by R3, the insolvency trade body, show that just one in three businesses (39%) feel that the outlook for the first three months of 2010 looks positive.
The figures come as no surprise to Christopher Brown, Business Recovery & Insolvency Partner at Hart Shaw and R3 spokesman for Rotherham, the trade body for the insolvency profession, who acknowledges that “the early stages of an economy’s recovery can be a dangerous time for businesses.”
“Interestingly, businesses seem more confident about the future than insolvency experts. Our figures show that, whilst 39 per cent of businesses are feeling positive about this quarter, only eight per cent of insolvency experts are positive about the outlook for businesses for the same period. Insolvency practitioners know that creditors tend to act more aggressively as we come out of a recession and corporate insolvencies continue to rise.”
The research also finds:
- Businesses in the manufacturing industry are the most positive about the future. 53 per cent of manufacturing businesses feel positive compared with 34 per cent of those in the services industry.
- Business confidence is at 44 per cent in the South compared with 37 per cent in the North.
- Business confidence correlates to the business’s size. 38 per cent of small businesses are confident about the future, compared with 48 per cent of large firms.
