Pre-election confidence slump

CONFIDENCE among Britain’s small businesses slumped to an eight-year low in the run-up to this month’s election as a wave of pessimism over challenges at home and abroad hit the country’s entrepreneurs.

Sentiment among business owners was negative for a record-breaking sixth consecutive quarter as they fretted over rising labour costs and uncertainty about global trade, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. The proportion of small businesses reporting a fall in profits in the fourth quarter reached a five-year high of 42pc, while the number enjoying an increase hit a five-year low of 27pc.

The outlook for 2020 is also poor. Almost half of firms polled said they expected to perform worse in the coming three months and fewer than a quarter thought business would improve.

The gloom engulfing companies was particularly pronounced in the battered retail sector, where two thirds of respondents said they expected prospects to worsen in early 2020.

Even the busy Christmas trading period fell short of last year as shoppers stayed at home.