Small business confidence has fallen for the third quarter in a row, as economic concerns weigh in the wake of Brexit.

The survey, conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses, shows the second largest fall in confidence in the figures’ history. It is the first survey since the Brexit result and took into account the opinions of 1,035 small firms between July and August.

FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said, “the political shock of the Brexit result has taken place at a time of weakening business confidence.”

“Small firms are resilient and will survive the current fragile economic outlook, but to avoid an economic slowdown this data should be a wake-up call for our elected politicians.

“We look to the party conferences and upcoming Autumn Statement to green-light infrastructure projects at local and national level, to simplify the tax system and to help reduce the costs of doing business,” he added.

However, the number of small businesses hoping to grow over the next year rose to 55 percent, the highest level recorded in nearly a year.

22/09/2016