UK sees 'turbo-charged' rise in business optimism
After a winter when the UK economy suffered a hammering not just from the Covid-19 pandemic but also from the end of the Brexit transition period, there were clear signs on Tuesday of a widespread recovery.
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Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s chief economist, said: “Brexit has been a significant dampener on business activity in the last four years but with the UK’s final departure from the EU, such effects are fading. Combined with a successful vaccine rollout and a greatly improved global backdrop we are seeing a turbo-charged surge in business optimism.“Having come through the deepest downturn in 300 years UK businesses are firmly focused on growth. Pent-up business and consumer demand are set to power a strong profits recovery, one already anticipated by the surge in equity markets since February.”Among SMEs, Hitachi found that growth forecasts had returned to pre-Covid levels, with confidence highest in London, Yorkshire and SE England.The 'Business Barometer' found that, in the first three months of the year, SME business owners predicting growth leapt to 36 per cent from 26 per cent in Q4 of 2020 – the highest quarter-on-quarter rise for four years.
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