Confidence among SMEs continues to fall
Jul 14 2011
Confidence among business owners has declined since September 2010
Confidence among SMEs in June 2011 is lower than in September last year, says new research. .
Only 13 per cent of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) believe the UK economy will improve in 2011, a 5 per cent drop since September 2010 when 18 per cent of business owners thought the economy would begin to improve at the start of this year.
Some 37 per cent of small businesses have found trading conditions tougher than they expected so far in 2011, according to the latest bi-annual SME Pulse from Aviva.
The figure increases to 43 per cent among shop and salon owners – the highest of any other business type – reveals the survey of 500 SME owners.
However, 35 per cent of restaurants have found conditions easier than expected this year, up from 2010 when 21 per cent expressed the same optimism in the sector.
David Bruce, commercial product manager at insurance company Aviva, comments, ‘Confidence among SMEs is as low as it has been since the onset of the recession and many feel they are in real danger of losing their businesses should the economy fail to improve this year.’
The survey reveals that 9 per cent of SMEs admit that they could go out of business if trading conditions don’t improve in the coming months.
Bruce adds, ‘The recent spate of failures on the high street confirms that the consumer-facing economy is feeling a particular squeeze at the moment as discretionary spending falls.
‘Despite this, it’s heartening to see an improvement in sentiment from restaurateurs compared to last year.’
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