Report: SMEs see brighter year ahead

THE start of the new year has seen a year-on-year doubling in the number of senior executives in small firms looking ahead with confidence.

The latest annual business survey from telecommunications company O2 Ireland shows that 26% of senior management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more confident about their business prospects going into the new year, compared with just 12% going into 2009.

The improvement has been attributed to the feeling that the worst of the recession is over, even though the vast majority of small firms feel the recession is yet to bottom out.