23 Jul 2020Confidence in the UK's small business sector is starting to bounce back, according to a quarterly survey conducted by Hitachi Capital Business Finance (HCBF). The HCBF survey reported that the number of UK small businesses predicting growth has almost doubled in just three months, from 14% to 27%. Following last quarter's report, which saw the percentage of small business owners predicting growth plummeting from 39% to just 14%, the new findings show the highest quarter-on-quarter rise in five years. The IT/telecoms sector had the highest proportion of small businesses that predicted growth at 44%, while transport and distribution saw the biggest rise in confidence. Commenting on the report, Gavin Wraith-Carter, Managing Director at HCBF, said: 'We knew last quarter that small business confidence would fall as lockdown started and the scale of the fall was a concern, particularly the steep rise in the number of business owners fearing for their survival. Our new research – just in – shows what an immediate and positive impact the easing of lockdown has had on the small business community.'