Over half of SMEs predict UK recession as Brexit bites

More than half (57%) of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) believe the UK economy will fall into recession this year, according to the latest SME Confidence Tracker from leading independent financial services provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS). In line with this belief, confidence[1] among SMEs has declined by 5.6 points year-on-year, with UK businesses experiencing their least confident start to a new year since 2014.

This has had a knock-on effect on investment decisions; with the average amount of capital SMEs plan to invest in their business falling for the fourth consecutive quarter – from £103,648 in Q1 2018 to £64,600 Q1 2019.

Source: Business Money
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