Optimism prevalent in region despite doubts over recovery

More than two-fifths (41 per cent) of Yorkshire small businesses questioned as part of the Bibby Financial Services Index, published yesterday, said they were "doing well".

Sixty four per cent of the small firms surveyed said they had noticed better supplier relationships and 69 per cent reported happier staff.

However, the Index suggests that owners and managers are still unsure about when real signs of recovery will appear. Sixteen per cent predicted that recovery may not occur for at least three years.

According to Bibby, this could be due to the looming spending cuts and job loses for the region's public sector workers.

Graham Cooper, Bibby Financial Services spokesman for Yorkshire, said: "It is encouraging to see that businesses across the region seem to have recovered well from the impact of the bad weather at the start of the year to reach a level of increased optimism.

"Despite the recent emergency Budget and the significant cuts to the public sector, which will hit Yorkshire and the Humber hard, firms are surprisingly upbeat.

"It will be interesting to see if the positive outlook can be maintained into the next Index, or whether there is a decline in business performance and optimism as the predicted job loses begin to take effect."

The Business Factors Index, compiled by invoice finance provider Bibby Financial Services, tracks movements in small business turnover. The Index is derived from interviews with 500 UK business owners, including 46 from Yorkshire.