The UK Economy (as well as the rest of the World) has been feeling the effects of the global financial crisis. The UK has been in recession since the end of 2008, it has been a tough few years for businesses and people alike.
Recent news has been encouraging and there may be light at the end of the tunnel, the UK avoided a triple dip recession and there are signs of recovery. The property prices in the UK are a good guide towards how we are doing financially and figures released by the likes of Zoopla and RightMove suggest that house prices have crept up recently.
Today the Markit/CIPS Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was released and it rose to 54.9 in May from 52.9 in April. Anything above the 50 benchmark is a strong signal of growth, and Markit said that the UK economy has “all cylinders now firing”.
The latest sets of figures have been boosted by the recent spell of good weather and the sharpest rise in new business growth since February 2010. The boost in new work has been helped by promotions, new product launches and a willingness among customers to commit to new business – confidence that has been lacking of late.
Phil Shaw, who is an analyst at Investec said, “It’s a very decent result, it’s encouraging that all three PMI surveys have been positive this week. It follows a run of generally better-than-expected data and suggests the economy is on a firmer footing.”
Positive growth, confidence and financial stability will be welcomed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who will be hoping that the second quarter UK growth can match or exceed the 0.3% in the first three months of the year.
It is also welcoming news for small businesses and those individuals looking for personal finance. With a more stable and growing economy lenders are more likely to invest and borrow money at a reasonable rate.
If you are thinking about raising finance and need help with your financial forecasting or business plan then please get in touch with us.
