A new UK business confidence tracker suggests that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in London are much more confident now than they were in the run-up to the Brexit vote this time last year.
According to a quarterly index published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), confidence levels among London-based businesses have risen significantly over the past 12 months – outstripping averages from most other UK regions.
The FSB’s 2017 Small Business Index recorded a +25 reading in Britain’s capital – up from a reading of just -10 recorded in June 2016.
In terms of regional confidence, London ranked third, trailing slightly behind the East Midlands and Wales, which recorded readings of +35 and +31, respectively.
Elsewhere across the UK, however, SME confidence has fallen substantially in some regions, according to the tracker.
When asked to cite their key fears for the year ahead, 52 per cent of national businesses said that they thought the current state of the UK economy was their biggest barrier to growth.
30 per cent added that consumer demand may fall in coming months, while 24 per cent said they were worried about increasing labour costs and 17 per cent added that they feared an increased tax burden.