UK FINANCE: BUSINESS UPDATE FOR APRIL 2018

UK Finance's latest Business Update for April 2018 reveals that: UK business borrowing contracted slightly by 1.7 per cent in the last 12 months. However within industry sectors there was a mixed picture with manufacturing maintaining strong growth at 8 per cent while construction contracted by 6.3 per cent in the year. UK business deposits grew by 4.4 per cent in the last 12 months down on the previous six month average of 6 per cent. Commenting on the data, Stephen Pegge, Managing Director, Commercial Finance at UK Finance said: “Overall demand for finance amongst businesses remains subdued. There has been some fluctuations in business borrowing, particularly in the construction and real-estate sectors. “This reflects ongoing economic uncertainty, as firms continue to build their deposits and carefully consider long-term investment decisions.”