A poll released on Monday revealed that, contrary to some dour predictions for the UK economy, more than 60% of British firms are positive about both the country’s economic growth in the medium term and their own income in the following few years.
According to the initial business poll conducted by the Boston Consulting Group Centre for Growth, 61% of more than 1,500 business leaders anticipate that economic growth would be “slightly or significantly better” in 2025.
63% of respondents believe their revenue will increase during the following three years.
This month, the Bank of England stated that due to Britain’s slow productivity growth, the country’s economy may likely only expand by 0.7% annually in 2024 and 2025 without sparking inflation. Additionally, it predicted a downturn that would start in early 2023 and persist until early 2024.
According to Raoul Ruparel, director of the BCG Centre for Growth, “it is easy to get pessimistic about the UK’s prospects both in the short and medium terms, but those operating our businesses tend to be more positive.” UK firms are clearly under pressure, but they are persevering.
Between Jan. 11 and Feb. 2, when the BoE released its most recent interest rate increase and economic projections, data for the survey was gathered.
The survey, which covered companies with annual revenues ranging from sole proprietorships to those with more than 50 million pounds ($60 million), also revealed that executives believed inflation would persist this year and that 56% of them would continue to raise prices over the following six months.
More than 75% of respondents predicted that their workforce will increase or remain constant over the ensuing 12 months, while 20% predicted personnel reductions.
The BoE anticipates that a rise in unemployment will help bring down inflation, which is now running at more than 10%. (1 dollar = 0.8365 pounds)