The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has reported a rise in confidence amongst small businesses. The findings come in spite of growing uncertainties about the consequences of the Scottish referendum, which could see the pound affected in global markets.
In 2014 the UK economy is expected to grow by more than three percent in 2014, according to the Bank of England’s estimate, which is the fastest rate of any Western state. A recent poll by Ipsos MORI has also found that the percentage of people who think the Tories are handling the economy well has jumped from 35 to 45%.
“We’re seeing record breaking confidence from our members which suggests small firms will continue to spearhead UK’s recovery,” said John Allan, national chairman of the FSB.
The FSB has said its confidence index rose to +41 during the third quarter of 2014, the highest on record.
“We want policymakers to lock in this optimism and continue to back the self-employed and small businesses.
“As we head into party conference season, we’ll be looking to all political parties to spell out what they will do to encourage job creation, investment and reward entrepreneurs in the next parliament,” the FSB said.
Concern about the economy has heightened recently due to the approaching Scottish referendum and the increasing possibility of issues in the middle-east affecting European markets. Yet these fears have been partly mollified by a rising consensus that the UK would be stronger in five years’ time without Scotland, according to research by the spread betting company Capital Spreads.