Business leaders optimistic about the future

52% of business leaders are feeling more positive about their future prospects, a survey of 185 London firms has revealed.

GDP figures released today showed that the UK is still in recession. However, the latest survey from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) suggests that small businesses believe that a UK recovery is not too far away.

Colin Stanbridge, Chief Executive of the LCCI, told the BBC that ‘businesses in the capital are increasingly confident about their own firm's prospects and that of the wider economy'. However, he added that there were still underlying problems to be tackled, such as the matter of late payments.

Two thirds of respondents said that they have suffered from late payments in the past - an issue frequently remarked on by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Earlier this year, the FSB said that some 4,000 businesses were thought to have failed in 2008 because of late payments.

The LCCI survey also showed that London businesses are embracing flexible working hours during the recession, with more than a third changing their working conditions in order to avoid having to make redundancies.

23/10/09