Confidence boost for self employed

After four interest rate rises since August last year, it would be fair to expect the UK's entrepreneurs to be feeling increasing economic pressures.

But in the toughening financial climate, recent figures suggest that self-employed Britons are actually growing in confidence.

According to the Kensington Self-Employed Index from Kensington Mortgages, almost two-thirds of self-employed people are confident about their business prospects over the next six months.

This represents an increase from the last quarter, even though the interest has recently hit 5.5 per cent.

Small business owners are also confident that turnover will improve over the next year, with 48 per cent suggesting so, which is a five per cent increase on February's statistics.

The knock-on effect of such high prospects also applies to recruitment, with a quarter of self-employed business owners expecting to take on more staff in the next 12 months.

Ian Giles, director of marketing at Kensington Mortgages, said that although many people were becoming cautious about the outlook of finances, self-employed people were "going from strength to strength".

"However confident they are, business owners will still need sound financial advice and intermediaries can play an important role in making sure the self-employed get the advice they need to keep their finances in good shape," he added.

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