Confidence edges up among UK’s SMEs
Confidence among the UK’s business owners has improved to its highest level (25.5 points) since February 2022, according to Close Brothers’ Business Sentiment Index (BSI). Conducted in March 2026, five of the seven sectors polled registered an improvement.
The BSI is based on the views of business owners and senior members of the UK’s business community, and calculated from data charting their:
- Appetite for investment in their business in the coming 12 months
- Access to finance and whether they’ve missed a business opportunity through lack of available finance
- Views about the UK’s economic outlook
- Thoughts on their likely performance in the coming 12 months
Focus on major improvers
Agriculture was one of two stand out performers, with a 148% increase in sentiment, driven by 85% of respondents noting they are planning on seeking funding for business investment in the next 12 months.
In terms of confidence in the macro economy, 46% are of the opinion there will be an improvement in 2026, ahead of the UK average of 41%. The same number (46%) are concerned the economy will slow down.
Looking at their own prospects for the year ahead, 42% expect to grow; 51% expect to stay the same, and the rest are looking to contract. None say they are going to close down.
Print and Packaging also saw a strong improvement, up 181%, with 78% planning to seek investment funding in the coming 12 months. They are, however, not as positive about the UK economy (38% positive / 54% negative; 8% unsure). A further 38% expect to grow, with over half stating they will tread water, and 8% expecting to contract.
Appetite for investment – ‘Does your business plan to seek funding for business investment in the next 12 months?’
The UK average across all sectors for this question was 70% stating they would be looking to invest in their business with ‘outside’ funding. This is how the other five sectors compare:
Missed opportunities – ‘Have you missed a business opportunity in the last 12 months, due to lack of available finance?’
On average, 34% of UK SMEs missed a business opportunity because of a lack of funding, with a wide discrepancy among the sectors. Transport and Haulage firms trended significantly below the mean, with Recruitment businesses well above the standard.
Lack of access to finance has been identified by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) as a barrier to economic growth, along with uncertainty among small businesses as to where to get information about types of finance available to them.
Economic outlook – ‘How would you best describe your business's economic outlook for the coming 12 months?’
Overall, business owners were more sceptical about the economy’s prospects than they were positive, with 41% confident the economy will grow against 45% who are concerned it will slow down; the rest don’t think there will be a significant change.
Predicted business performance – ‘how do you expect your business to perform over the next 12 months?’
On this metric, firm bosses were far more positive. While most expected to tread water, a healthy minority were upbeat about their prospects during 2026, with far fewer anticipating either contracting or closing down.
The only outlier was Recruitment, where sentiment was significantly more positive.
Score calculation*
The BSI is based on the views of over 900 business owners and senior members of the UK’s business community and calculated from data charting their:
- Appetite for investment in their business in the coming 12 months
- Access to finance and whether they’ve missed a business opportunity through lack of available finance
- Views about the UK’s economic outlook
- Thoughts on their likely performance in the coming 12 months
Methodology
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a Censuswide survey conducted in March 2026. The survey canvassed the opinion of over 900 SME owners across the UK and Ireland and across several industries on a range of issues affecting their businesses.
