More businesses are confident about their ability to expand over the next 12 months compared to a year ago.
Around two-thirds say they believe in their ability to grow their business, according to a poll of UK plc directors from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
However, only 20 per cent believe the UK remains a competitive environment for business.
David Snell, partner at PWC, says: ‘Businesses appear to have more faith in their ability to manage their own companies but lack confidence in the wider economy. This is a challenging situation because an improved business environment for individual companies is clearly dependent on the restoration of confidence in the wider economy.’
Of the 250 businesses surveyed, 73 per cent believe the government should do more to help with access to finance.