- A New Year message from Forum of Private Business CEO Phil Orford
- 2010: Year of 'great political instability' on back of 'crippling credit crisis'
- Recovery must not be jeopardised by electioneering
- The way businesses are financed has changed for ever
- Small firms need to adapt to tighter lending conditions
Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, looks ahead to what 2010 will bring for the UK's small businesses.
For many businesses, 2009 was their most difficult year. For many more, 2009 was their last. The prospects for 2010 are just as uncertain, and with historic evidence showing that business failures increase during the early phase of recovery, small business owners are right to fear the immediate future.
2010 will be a year of great potential instability. With economic recovery fragile, with confusing statistics about lending, output, sales and employment; and with a looming general election, never have we faced such political and economic uncertainty on the back of a crippling credit crisis.
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