THE majority of business owners say they are lukewarm about 2017 prospects according to a new survey.

In Close Brothers Asset Finances latest national quarterly survey, providing a measure on how small to medium enterprise business owners feel on 2017, more than half, 57 per cent, said they did not feel confident about the outlook.

Owners of firms at the smaller end of the scale, under £500k annual turnover, were the least confident, with 64 per cent answering ‘no’ to the question ‘are you confident about the UK’s economic outlook for 2017?’.

In the West Midlands, 51 per cent of those surveyed answered no to the question.

The most enthusiastic response was from owners of business in the manufacturing sector, which returned a positive response of 61 per cent. This was followed by engineering with 52 per cent, construction with 49 per cent, transport 47 per cent and print 37 per cent.

“Businesses owners are not taking a negative view, but they are being pragmatic about the UK’s economic prospects over the next 12 months,” said Neil Davies, chief executive of Close Brothers.

"There are still many unknowns and this uncertainty is reflected in what small business owners are telling us.

"For example, the value of Sterling is seen as a short-term issue and doesn’t create conditions for long-term investment.

"While activity in a number of sectors is stronger due to the weaker pound, helping to boost orders from overseas, cost pressures remain high with price increases being passed onto consumers, which may contribute to an increase in inflation down the road.”