A study from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) reveals companies are preparing to protect their profits as business confidence plummets amid the credit crunch.
Mark Hale, ICAEW regional director, believes north-west firms particularly, are facing tough trading conditions compared with the rest of Britain, the Manchester Evening News reports.
‘Confidence in the north-west has been severely dented because of the credit crunch on the construction, property and retail sectors, all of which have weakened significantly since the start of 2008,’ he said.
He said building firms and estate agents were the hardest hit. ‘Clearly businesses in the north-west recognise the scale of the problems they are facing and are battening down the hatches until the climate improves,’ he said.
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