Businesses do not share the chancellor's optimism in a swift revival of growth next year, according to several confidence surveys released today.
In his pre-Budget report Gordon Brown forecast that the economy would grow 1.6 per cent this year before accelerating to between 2.5 and 3 per cent next year.
But a survey commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry underlined lingering pessimism in the service sector. Confidence fell sharply among companies servicing the consumer, such as hotels and restaurants, with a percentage balance of 31 per cent saying they were pessimistic about business conditions compared with 17 per cent in August. Business and professional services companies saw a pick-up since August but most expected conditions to deteriorate again over the next three months.
