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United Kingdom Business Confidence

United Kingdom business confidence fell to -31 points in Q4 2025, down from -27 points in Q3 2025. This represents a 14.8% decline. Record-high concerns about the tax burden, affecting 60% of companies and regulatory worries impacting nearly half of businesses, contributed to this downturn. Policy changes and geopolitical uncertainty drove a significant increase in profit warnings in Q3 2025. Consumer confidence in the UK economy also dropped to a two-year low of -64% in Q3 2025 due to persistent inflation and cautious spending. United Kingdom's record low business confidence was -87 points in Q2 2020 and record high was 38 points in Q2 2021.

Quarterly Historical Data (2015-2025)

(in points)
Quarter Business Confidence (points)
Q4 2025 -31
Q3 2025 -27
Q2 2025 -33
Q1 2025 -47
Q4 2024 -24
Q3 2024 -9
Q2 2024 9
Q1 2024 -3
Q4 2023 -15
Q3 2023 6
Q2 2023 -2
Q1 2023 -5
Q4 2022 -48
Q3 2022 -21
Q2 2022 -34
Q1 2022 -9
Q4 2021 2
Q3 2021 27
Q2 2021 38
Q1 2021 -22
Q4 2020 0
Q3 2020 -1
Q2 2020 -87
Q1 2020 23
Q4 2019 -44
Q3 2019 -32
Q2 2019 -13
Q1 2019 -23
Q4 2018 -16
Q3 2018 -3
Q2 2018 -4
Q1 2018 13
Q4 2017 -11
Q3 2017 5
Q2 2017 1
Q1 2017 15
Q4 2016 -8
Q3 2016 -47
Q2 2016 -5
Q1 2016 -4
Q4 2015 -12

Recent Events

datetime event actual previous consensus
2025-10-23 06:00 AM CBI Business Optimism Index (Q4) -31 -27 -

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United Kingdom Business Confidence : Definition
United Kingdom business confidence measures general business sentiment about economic conditions and future prospects. The Confederation of British Industry calculates it by surveying firms on factors like orders and investment. The net balance, the percentage of firms reporting increases minus those reporting decreases, shows overall confidence. A positive balance indicates optimism, a negative balance signals pessimism.