It was the second month in a row that confidence has increased nationally, with optimism in London rising two points to 19 per cent in April.

A rise in economic optimism

While companies in the capital voiced slightly lower confidence in their business prospects, their economic optimism rose eight points to ten per cent."Together, this gives an overall confidence of 19 per cent. Meanwhile, a net balance of 25 per cent of businesses in the region now expect to hire more staff during the next year, up eight points on last month," said Lloyds, whose monthly Business Barometer is based on responses from 1,200 businesses.However, across the London region, a net balance of 20 per cent of companies expressed fears that the UK’s exit from the European Union would have a negative impact on their business activity, up five points on a month ago.

Businesses demonstrate resilience

Paul Evans, London regional director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking said, “It’s positive to see rising optimism about the economy boosting overall confidence for the second month in a row.“Businesses in the capital have demonstrated their resilience time and time again, and their growing hiring intentions suggest many firms are taking steps to ensure that they’re prepared to capitalise on future opportunities.“Whatever their goals, we’ll be at the side of businesses every step of the way. That’s why we’ve pledged to lend £2.6 billion to firms in the capital this year alone, helping them to focus on their growth ambitions.”

Across the UK, overall confidence climbed four points to 14 per cent in April as both firms’ optimism about the economy, and their confidence in their own prospects, continued to rebound from earlier in the year.Companies’ economic optimism rose to four per cent, while confidence in their own business prospects climbed three points to 23 per cent.

West Midlands most confident region

London is the third most confident region in the UK, behind businesses in the West Midlands, at 28 per cent, and the North West at 20 per cent.Businesses in Wales are the least confident, with an overall confidence of minus one per cent, 15 points below the national average.Across the UK, the overall confidence of firms in manufacturing, construction and services all improved – but retail sector confidence fell.Manufacturing and construction confidence rose for the first time in three months, increasing six points to 16 per cent and two points to 15 per cent respectively. Services confidence increased by five points to 12 per cent.Meanwhile, the retail sector, which posted the highest confidence in March, fell this month by six points, placing it on a par with the manufacturing sector at 16 per cent.Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said, “While business confidence remains low when viewed against the historic average, it is certainly encouraging to see an increase in overall optimism for the second month in a row.

Firms’ view of potential impact of Brexit remains unchanged

“Firms appear more positive about both their own trading prospects and the broader economy, although their assessment of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU remains unchanged. We will have to wait and see whether this partial rise converts into a sustained recovery.”

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