UK businesses remain optimistic about the economic outlook

Sept. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- Businesses in the North-West top the optimism charts in Abbey Business Centres’ Annual Business Confidence survey.

The survey asked businesses from across Abbey’s network of centres “Compared with the same time last year, do you feel more or less positive about the state of the economy?” with respondents given a choice of 5 answers ranging from ‘very optimistic’ to ‘worse than last year’.

The North West claimed first place with 68% of those questioned feeling positive about the economy. Businesses in the South East and London came in close behind with figures of 63% and 61% respectively. Scottish businesses were more cautious with only 57% remaining upbeat.

A closer look at the regional figures provides a deeper understanding of the results.

In Central London, clients in the heart of the City of London at 30 St Mary Axe business centre were 32% more confident about the economy compared to their counterparts further to the west in St Paul’s – who along with clients in Canary Wharf, were shown to be much more undecided about the short term future of the economy than any other centres across the network.

In Scotland, the picture was also uncertain. 28% answered ‘no change’ with clients in Glasgow more downbeat than those in Edinburgh with 22% fearing the economy will get worse compared to a 14% figure in the Scottish capital.

In the South East, businesses in Slough and Theale were the most optimistic out of all total respondents with 72% and 71% providing a positive response. These promising results from Berkshire office space clients also ensured the county came out top against their counterparts in Surrey where only 50% of those questioned felt optimistic about the economy.

Even with the forthcoming public sector cuts and the possibility of a double dip recession, the general feeling among Abbey’s business community remains largely positive with 63% of respondents being very or slightly optimistic – far outweighing the 11% of total respondents providing a negative response.

For more information about our range of UK serviced offices, call us today on 0800 634 6346 or email info@abbeyoffices.com. Alternatively, visit the Abbey Business Centres website - http://www.abbeyoffices.com

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Abbey Business Centres provide serviced offices, office space, virtual offices, conference facilities and meeting rooms at 13 locations across the United Kingdom

For further information, visit our website - www.abbeyoffices.com