Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Lloyds Bank’s latest Business Barometer has found that business confidence remains high, with March’s figures unchanged month-on-month at 42%. In a promising sign of a return to economic growth, this month’s survey data reflects the continued confidence firms have demonstrated so far in 2024 and means the overall business confidence level remains well above the…
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New data from the Institute of Directors shows that business confidence in the wider economy has dropped back to the levels seen in the latter part of 2023, having seen a brief uplift at the start of this year. Whilst business leaders’ views about their own organisations’ prospects remain more positive, investment and export expectations…
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Business confidence has hit its highest level since the first quarter of 2022, according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) quarterly economic survey. The research shows a small rise in business confidence in the final quarter of 2023. The percentage of firms expecting an increase in turnover over the next year (56%) has risen…
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Business leaders in the financial services sector are feeling optimistic moving into 2024, according to new research from KPMG UK. The survey of senior executives working in the sector found that 87% are ‘confident’ when it comes to overall business growth in the first quarter of 2024, supported by a buoyant outlook on profitability for…
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Having been gradually ticking up since its recent nadir of -30 in June 2023, the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell back to -28 in December from -21 in November. However, despite the decline in the headline indicator, business leaders’ confidence in…
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British businesses became more downbeat about the economic outlook in December, with the biggest monthly decline in confidence in more than a year, according to the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer. The survey fell by seven points to 35% from November’s 21-month high of 42%, marking the largest monthly fall since August 2022. Firms’ hiring intentions…
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Research by Lloyds Bank shows that business confidence has climbed back to levels not seen since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis. The rise in business confidence is significantly above the long-term average of 28%, and has been driven by increased trading prospects for the year ahead, greater optimism in the…
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Business confidence rose to 39% in October, a three-point increase, to reach the second highest level in 2023–surpassed only in August (41%) according to Lloyds bank business barometer. The confidence level this month is significantly above the long-term average of 28% and contrasts sharply with the Barometer reading of just 15% in October 2022, in…
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Small business confidence regained some ground between the second and the third quarters of the year, but is still in negative territory for the sixth quarter in a row, according to Federation of Small Businesses (FSB’s) latest Small Business Index for Q3, in partnership with Google. The headline confidence reading was -8.0 points in Q3,…
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Business confidence in the UK halved in the third quarter as worries over higher interest rates and weakening sales growth bite, a survey of business leaders has found. Sentiment tracked by ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) put confidence at 2.9 on the index for Q3 2023, down from 6.1 in Q2 and below the pre-pandemic…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained subdued at -26 in September 2023, similar to August’s reading of -28. This is the fourth consecutive month in which economic confidence has been relatively low, following a large drop in June. Order books were suggestive of…
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New data from the Institute of Directors shows that business confidence in the wider economy remained low in August. However, business views about their own organisations’ prospects recovered some ground in August. Inflation expectations have also improved, but cost pressures, particularly wage costs, remain a major concern. The monthly IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which…
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Confidence among British companies has risen to its highest level since before Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer. The survey shows that optimism has risen by 10 per cent to 41 per cent, the highest level since February 2022. The 10-point increase is the largest month on month rise since March…
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