Credit still available. Likelihood of M&A activity, very slim

• Despite perceived credit issues globally, almost two thirds (57.9%) of respondents feel credit is still available to them if necessary, with almost a fifth feeling it is easily available;

• Over half believe payment terms are still safe, with over 45% thinking they are fairly safe;

• Almost half (45.3%) expect sales revenue to increase over the next 12 months;


• Over half are optimistic (with 44% fairly optimistic) about launching new products of services in the next year;

• Reflecting the trends globally, opinions about employment levels continue to be pessimistic, although over half (52.1%) expect levels to remain broadly unchanged, with 31.6% believing they will reduce somewhat;


• The likelihood of M&A activity is very slim, with 60% thinking it unlikely for their company to entertain thoughts of takeovers at the moment;

• Over half (51.6%) believe EU grants will be hard to obtain, compared to just over a quarter (25.5%) believing them to be available.