South: ICAEW report registers fall in business confidence

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TBM Team

The latest ICAEW UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM), produced by the professional membership organisation which promotes, develops and supports over 145,000 chartered accountants worldwide, signals the lowest level of business confidence in the South East since 2012. The index stands at -11.4, having fallen consistently from +26.4 a year ago.

Other key findings in the report are that sales volumes are currently growing at an annual rate of 4.1%, compared to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2015, the slower pace of growth being evident in both domestic and export demand. Capital investment has slowed to 1.4% and is expected to grow by just 0.1% in the next 12 months. Marketplace competition is also registered as a growing concern for 46% of businesses, while 42% cite customer demand as an increasing challenge

Andrea Dunhill, ICAEW regional director for the South East, said: “This is the first negative reading in four years. However, the sustained nature of the decline in confidence indicates that businesses have been concerned about economic conditions for some time, and this is not just a Brexit-related shock.”

But she added: “Businesses in the South East are resilient and after the political surprise of the referendum result, many are getting on with delivering their business plans and moving forward. It is vital that leading businesses continue to work with the government and promote the region, highlighting the many benefits of doing business in the South East.”

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TBM Team