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Business confidence among British businesses has picked up to its highest level since July as firms expect a busier 2018, though optimism remains well below its level before last year’s Brexit vote.
Lloyds’ business barometer rose to +28 in December from +24 in November, compared with a pre-referendum average of +44, a survey by Lloyds Bank showed on Friday.
Official data due at 0930 GMT is expected to confirm that British annual economic growth held at 1.5 per cent in the three months to September, reports Reuters.
“The results point to the economy continuing to expand in the fourth quarter at a similar pace to recent quarters,” Lloyds economist Hann-Ju Ho said.
“However, larger companies reported the weakest business prospects as well as the biggest concerns about the impact of Brexit,” he said.
The YouGov/Cebr survey was based on responses from 6,000 people over the past month.
The Lloyds data came from 300 firms with annual sales of more than 1 million pounds ($1.34 million) questioned between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11.