Business confidence continues to rise

Firms across the UK have been under pressure over recent months and years. As well as the usual difficulties faced by companies, they have had the tough economic climate to deal with. One of the major hurdles confronting a lot of organisations has been debt recovery. When enterprises struggle to recoup money owed to them, they can experience serious cash flow problems and they sometimes turn to debt recovery solicitors to help them address the issue. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for companies. According to the latest Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets Business Barometer, business confidence rose for the third month in a row in March, the Press Association reports. The barometer climbed by 30 points to a nine-month high, with 51 per cent of firms saying they were more optimistic regarding their economic prospects. This was the first time since June last year that more than half of respondents were positive about the outlook for the UK economy. Responding to the findings, chief economist at Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets Trevor Williams said: "[The] acceleration in confidence about UK economic prospects supports our view that concern about the eurozone debt crisis was a major contributor to the sharp decline in sentiment during the latter months of 2011. "Indeed, the rebound in confidence mirrors the fallback in market concerns over the potential fallout from a Greek default since December last year. This month's results also provide strong support to our contention that GDP will expand in the first half of 2012." However, the organisation also noted a slight fall in businesses' confidence in their own prospects, with the net balance declining by one point to 40 per cent. To help protect their finances, it may be wise for firms to enlist the help of debt recovery solicitors in a bid to recoup more of the money owed to them.