New report claims UK businesses more confident than rivals

A new report from research group Markit has claimed UK businesses are more confident than overseas rivals from other major economies, despite the potential for future global economic turmoil.

The research group has announced that its barometer of business sentiment has found that 55 per cent of British businesses expect activity to increase in the next 12 months. While lower than previous barometers (which reported 61 per cent of businesses in the summer and 66 per cent of businesses in February expected increased activity over the next year), the figures still rank higher than findings for US businesses (31 per cent) and Germany (24 per cent).

However, the report has found global confidence in increasing business activity to be at a five year low, with suspicions of further economic turmoil at their highest since the global financial crisis. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has noted that British business sentiment and UK economic growth is in stark contrast to that other major economies.