SME confidence climbs

In a welcome boost for motorsport businesses, a recent poll by Hitachi Capital Business Finance saw 55% of SMEs say they are borrowing to finance their 2021 plans, a two-percentage point increase on a year ago, while more than a quarter are predicting growth over the next three months, up from 13%. Hitachi Capital Business Finance’s head of insight, Joanna Morris, said: “Despite a bruising year for small business in the UK, confidence levels are starting to return among some sectors, not far off levels we saw before the pandemic outbreak.”