British CEOs optimistic about UK economic growth, says report

Chief executives in Britain are confident about UK economic growth in 2015.

The majority of UK chief executive officers (CEOs) believe there are more opportunities for their company to grow in today’s climate compared with three years ago, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) annual Global CEO Survey, which was published at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Three out of five (61 per cent) of British bosses were upbeat about their company’s growth prospects and 85 per cent of business leaders in the UK were confident about the year ahead, however, that’s slightly lower than a the 93 per cent reading from a year ago.

UK CEOs optimistic about future prospects

Over the next three years, 95 per cent of respondents were confident about their business’s opportunities for growth, of that huge majority 52 per cent are very confident, which indicates future prospects are looking very good.

“Last year we saw a sharp rise in confidence as the UK economy appeared to turn a corner,” said Ian Powell, chairman and senior partner of PwC UK.

“A keen focus for UK CEOs is how the UK develops the right skills to compete globally. Our Survey again highlights the pressing need for the government, business and education sectors to work together to enable the UK to prosper in the long-term,” he added.

British bosses confident about global growth

Further data highlighted that business leaders in the UK were some of the most positive when considering growth prospects for the global economy during the next 12 months. Of those UK CEOs polled, 41 per cent anticipate an improvement for global growth. While this is lower than last year’s reading of 61 per cent, it remains above the global average of 37 per cent.

It further illustrates that we could see a recovery in business across borders, according to Mr Powell. “There is a healthy appetite for M&A as more UK companies look to do deals overseas,” he said.

The full results of the annual Global CEO Survey from PwC can be found here.