SME confidence returns ahead of festive season British SMEs are starting to feel more confident about the performance and resilience of their own businesses, boosted by festive forecasts. The latest quarterly Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer, which surveyed 592 senior staff working in UK SMEs, found that 54% of UK SMEs are expecting revenues to increase in the fourth quarter, compared with their performance in the third. Following last year’s restrictions, the research also revealed that 29% SMEs forecasted the upcoming festive trading period will be their most successful since 2016. “It’s encouraging to see that small and medium businesses are feeling positive about their performance ahead of the festive period,” said Colin O’Flaherty, head of small business at Barclaycard Payments. “While the overall economic backdrop remains challenging amidst rising prices, slowing economic output and muted consumer confidence, UK SMEs continue to impress me with their resilience and their focus on controlling what they can control to meet the needs of their customers as they’ve weathered the ups and downs of the past 20 months".