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London businesses look forwards with confidence
General News |
24/06/2011
Confidence is increasing among London-based businesses, a new study has indicated.
The latest London Business Survey, conducted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG, found that 57 per cent of companies surveyed are now hiring again as normal.
This compared favourably to the 45 per cent who said they were recruiting again six months ago.
At the same time, just 20 per cent of respondents said they were now making redundancies, compared with 29 per cent in December 2010.
Some 51 per cent of London companies are optimistic about their business prospects over the next six months, rising to 57 per cent among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Expansion plans remain strong, with 65 per cent of firms saying they plan to expand over the next year.
Of those, 43 per cent have plans to grow in London, up from a third in December, and 36 per cent want to increase their presence outside the UK.
Some 87 per cent of London firms currently rate the capital as a 'good' or 'very good' place to conduct business, with 78 per cent expecting to say the same in five years' time.
Sara Parker, CBI regional director, said it was "great news" to see that more London companies are hiring as normal and redundancies have fallen.
"Many businesses are planning to expand, but this optimism is clearly tempered by uncertainty about the economy," she stated.
Ms Parker claimed the capital is "a great place to do business", with its talent pool, ease of access to global markets and proximity to clients the city's major strengths.
However, she highlighted London's high operating costs and the fragile transport system as "major weaknesses".
"The roads network is the biggest transport concern for London firms who want one of the mayor's top priorities to be improving the city's infrastructure."
Last month, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that London has held onto its status as the world's leading economic centre, despite the negative impacts of the 2008-09 banking crisis.
Posted by Jon Aspinell
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