UK Office Space News

One in four small and medium sized businesses are planning to take on more staff within the next 3 months according to new research out this week.

The Sage UK Omnibus report surveyed 2,400 small and medium sized business respondents drawn from Sage’s client base in October 2009. Despite the drop in the GDP for the third consecutive quarter and the UK still being in the grip of the recession, many SME’s are reporting a positive outlook for the future. The research also reported that nearly 70% of small businesses said the recession hadn’t bought them any closer to their customers.

Brendan Flattery, MD of Sage’s Small Business Division said; “The research findings suggest that there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel for the UK’s business community. The fact that small businesses are starting to think about recruitment in such significant numbers it is a very encouraging sign. But there is still a long way to go and good financial planning and reporting will be key to their recovery.”

This positive news comes on the back of some more negative economy news out this week. The Office for National Statistics reported that UK borrowing hit £11.4bn in October, far higher than the £7.1bn that had been forecast in the City. This means Alistair Darling will now have to revise his prediction that UK borrowing will total £175 billion in 2009 ahead of his Pre-Budget Report on 9th December.

This unexpected figure now casts doubt upon the rate at which the UK economy will start to recover from the recession.