Investment plans plunge as firms fear inflation and fuel costs

Summary

The proportion of businesses planning to increase investment in their work has fallen to its lowest level since lockdown as bosses fear rising costs, a new survey has shown. And as one Merseyside firm said Q2 "has been the hardest quarter for us since the financial crash of 2008", the CEO of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce says the new Prime Minister must cut red tape and the tax burden on business to give firms the confidence to grow.

Just 17% of respondents in the latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey said they planned to increase investment in plant, machinery or equipment over the next three months, down from 21% in the previous quarter. Some 26% of those polled said they planned to cut back on investment, while the rest of those polled were expecting no change.

Confidence also fell, with 44% of those polled expecting improved turnover in the next 12 months, down on 49% in the first quarter, and 23% expecting turnover to decline. Just 29% reported rising sales in the previous three months, with a similar number seeing falling sales.

This is a summary written for the Liverpool Business Services catalogue. The full article belongs to BusinessLive North West; read it at source.

---

Questions people ask

Who reported this story?

It was published by BusinessLive North West on 10 July 2026.

Where can I read the full article?

The full story is at BusinessLive North West; use the link on this page. This catalogue summarises and credits it, and never republishes the article.