Confidence within Britain's small businesses appears to be soaring, with research showing that over half of companies plan to grow moderately or rapidly over the course of the next year.
Conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the study found that 56 per cent of companies are planning on expanding during 2014. Furthermore, confidence among business owners rose by 21 points in the fourth quarter of this year, with companies offering financial services shown to have a particularly high level of confidence.
John Allen, national chairman of the FSB, said that while the figures are promising there are still "long-term structural problems" within the British economy, including skills shortages and problems with the way in which the banking and energy markets in particular are operating.
He added: "Tackling skills and work-readiness should be an absolute priority for the Government as recent headlines show the UK risks lagging behind competitors in emerging markets, and there remains the outstanding issue of fundamentally reforming business rates."
While there are broad trends across the country, the improvement in business for SMEs does not appear to be occurring evenly on a geographical basis. The FSB study showed that the East Midlands is the most optimistic about the future, while figures from the British Bankers' Association recently found that London SMEs are more likely to seek funding.
The BBA study found that the capital's small businesses account for more than a fifth of bank loans to the sector. This could, however, be more down to the high number of businesses located in London. BBA's chief executive, Anthony Browne, commented: "Lenders are supplying vital funding to SMEs across the country – proportionately, they are lending more to businesses across Britain than to those in London and the South East, though borrowing generally reflects the geographic distribution of businesses in the country." 
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