If you are looking at investment planning in Cheshire, HSBC’s latest annual capital expenditure (CAPEX) report has found that firms across the UK are feeling predominantly positive.
This is despite election uncertainty in the US and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The study surveyed 1,583 HSBC customers and found that around 55% of UK businesses are optimistic about growth in the year ahead, which is up 9% on last year.
Approximately two thirds have growth ambitions, which is up from 64% last year, whilst 22% were hoping to grow by at least 20%, the highest figure since the CAPEX reports first started in 2020.
The most buoyant segment of the economy is the technology sector, which, thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) has resulted in 81% of companies expecting to grow this year. This is far ahead of other surveyed industries, such as consumer, wholesale and retail, which were considerably more cautious.
Whilst the CAPEX report also showed a drop in the number of companies increasing their spending over the next 12 months, some of this has been attributed to the burden of costs, and that where investment is planned, an increased amount is being allocated to growth and expansion.
HSBC’s head of commercial banking, Stuart Tait, said that the UK economy had demonstrated resilience in recent years, and performed better than expected in the face of numerous ‘shocks’, such as COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Businesses are now waiting to see what happens in the forthcoming Budget, while also monitoring movements in interest rates and oil prices.
