Signs of hope for UK businesses

Conditions may be improving for some businesses

Conditions are improving for British businesses, two new reports suggest.

Companies surveyed for the Access to Finance report from employers' group the CBI were less negative in March than they had been in February.

Also, there was a small rise in short term confidence in March measured by the accountants BDO Stoy Hayward.

But unemployment was forecast to rise from 6.5% to 7.6% over the next three months, meaning an extra 350,000 people would be out of work.

In the CBI report, 36% more firms said the availability of credit had deteriorated over the past three months than said it had improved.

But that figure was well down on February's margin of 59%.

BDO's Business Trends report showed a modest increase in confidence based on whether companies expect good revenue from orders.

While it only rose from 88.3 in February to 88.6 in March, it is a big improvement on recent big falls.

"Until now, confidence has been in freefall, and while conditions in the employment market will worsen in the coming months, some businesses are starting to view the future with less trepidation," said Peter Hemington from BDO Stoy Hayward.

"The indicators suggest that we're unlikely to face a 1930s-style depression and the increased pressure that has been applied on banks to increase their lending is starting to bring about the desired effect."