Shropshire businesses shake off uncertainty to report steady sales

That is the outcome of the latest key survey of county businesses, which shows more steady momentum in the local business landscape.

Shropshire Chamber of Commerce's Quarterly Economic Survey showed that the county's economy remained steady in the second quarter of the year, although areas such as cash flow and investment and employment intentions left cause for concern.

Chamber chief executive Richard Sheehan said he was not experiencing a significant drop-off in confidence.

"We are not getting people preaching doom and gloom despite the unsettling situation of having a referendum then an election, terror attacks and other issues which can impact on confidence," he said.

"We are not hearing from businesses that things are slowing down. It's very much business as usual, a lot of positivity and a lot of people saying they are doing well."

He added: "I think what we are seeing is a continuation of the tremendous resilience that business has in adversity, and I think there has been so much negativity around that they are just brushing it off and getting on with things.

"They are getting stuck in and making a damn good job of things at the moment."

The percentage of businesses reporting improving UK sales past and future has been in a steep decline over the period, but that has not led to a big rise in companies reporting falling sales, rather a rise in those saying their figures have been static.

Exports saw a similar change, albeit with more companies reporting a decline in their international performance.

Similarly, while fewer companies are saying they plan to bring on more staff in the coming months, that does not mean businesses are planning to shed workers, rather that they are sticking with what they already have.

Cash flow has deteriorated, meanwhile, but the percentage of businesses which are operating at full capacity has improved to 30 per cent.

"It has been a close continuation from quarter one with some very subtle tweaks in certain areas around sales," Mr Sheehan added.

"Clearly there are concerns triggered by uncertainty around cash flow and investment intentions.

"It's good to see that there is a steady increase in companies running at full capacity but at the same time we have 70 per cent of respondents who are not. Clearly that's something that needs to be addressed."