Businesses believe recovery 'far from secure'

A survey by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that commercial confidence is down over the second quarter of this year, based on responses from 1,200 members.

Three-quarters of organisations who believed in March that future business prospects were strong no longer felt this to be the case, with only 4% of those surveyed predicting positive trends over the next few months.

National chairman of the group John Walker said that the results showed there was broad agreement that recovery is "far from secure" and traders expect to face considerable challenges in the near future.

This sentiment is echoed by Geoffrey Dicks, a senior official at the Office of Budget Responsibility, who recently argued that the coalition government's budget has increased the likelihood of a double-dip recession.

The report also revealed that the majority of small businesses are still not operating at full capacity, with almost 70% saying they would be able to take on more work if it became available.