Almost one-third of business insurance customers expect turnover to improve in the coming months, it has been claimed.
The latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey found that 30 per cent of business insurance holders predict turnover will increase by up to one-quarter in the next three months.
This is an increase on the 22 per cent of business insurance customers who believed this in January.
However, the survey also revealed that more than half of companies are seeing their customers take longer to settle their accounts, which is impacting on cashflow.
In addition, 69 per cent of business insurance holders do not plan on recruiting new staff in the next quarter, while one in ten are spending more than 20 hours a week meeting employment legislation.
David Frost, BCC director general, said: "These results show just how tough cash flow conditions are, with half of businesses hamstrung by increasingly late payments. The knock-on effect is that under a third of employers are planning to recruit over the next three months."
The Forum of Private Business recently revealed that small firms are seeing an increase in confidence, although poor access to finance, the weak value of sterling and difficulty in gaining new business are still major concerns.
