'Confidence up' in city's economy

Brian Steel advises Bath greengrocer

The number of companies feeling confident about their future in the Bristol area has increased, a survey has suggested.

Six out of 10 businesses surveyed by Business Link, the government advice agency for small firms, said they felt optimistic about their prospects.

Eight months ago only five in 10 firms were optimistic.

A Business Link spokesman described the results as "encouraging, but not yet a cause for celebration".

'Heavy borrowing'

Fourteen percent of firms had been "extremely affected" by the recession, a slight drop on the previous figure of 17%, the survey indicated.

Brian Steel, who is an advisor for Business Link, said the companies most badly affected were those with heavy borrowing.

He said: "It's still a credit crunch. The clue's in the name. If you've got a lot of debt, it's still very tough out there. But for firms without big overdrafts, trading can be really quite healthy."

DAVE HARVEY'S BLOG Everyone has their own dipsticks for spotting the recovery. Mine is inexplicable optimism on the High Street." Green shoots in the garden or just weeds?

This is one of the latest reports which suggest there might be "green shoots" of recovery in the economy.

Experts at Hargreaves Lansdown, an investment house in Bristol, disagree.

Mark Dampier, head of research at the company, said: "There might be a few signs of life, if there weren't things would be awful after what we've been through.

"But green shoots? I don't see any yet."

Mr Dampier believes unemployment, which is still growing, and house prices, which are still falling, are responsible.

The scale of debt, both national and held by individual consumers, will also hold back any recovery, he believes.