1:40pm Tuesday 29th September 2009
By Alex Cameron
THREE in four business owners in the South-West are confident in the prospects of their firm for the remainder of 2009, new research has found.
The findings come from the Santander Corporate Banking Business Confidence Index.
Almost one in eight (12%) firms are ‘very confident’, 62% say they are ‘confident’, 21% are ‘not very confident’ and 6% are ‘not at all confident’.
The survey shows that profitability is the factor most responsible for the level of confidence amongst businesses in the South West, with one in five (22%) company owners citing this as the most important indicator for them.
Profit is closely followed by turnover (21%) and forward orders (20%) as the most crucial indicators. By contrast, business owners don’t feel that inflation has much bearing on the prospects of their business, with only 2% citing it as a key factor.
While optimistic about their own firms, business owners in the South West are less confident about the prospects for companies in their region in general.
The optimistic business outlook comes despite the economic downturn resulting in falling profits for more than twice as many businesses as those who have enjoyed increased profit levels in the first half of 2009 (47% against 20%).
Will Clark, regional director for the South-West and Wales at Santander Corporate Banking, said: “Our research indicates that there is a higher than expected level of confidence and optimism amongst businesses in the South West.
“Despite the majority of organisations experiencing a tough time during the current economic downturn, there are encouraging signs that many of them might now be turning a corner.”
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