Reviewing Global Trade Outlooks for British Industry

Trading businesses were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared to December 2025, excluding any seasonal trading. Information are outlined in the middle of the period of each wave. Nearly a third (31%) of trading businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in January 2026 compared to the previous month.

The motions are broadly in line with those observed around this time in previous years, with peaks in December followed by small falls in January. The industries with the highest percentage reporting that turnover decreased in January 2026 were: the lodging and food service activities industry (52%, which is a 21 percentage point increase from December 2025) the other services market (45%) the arts, home entertainment and recreation industry (40%) Around 16% of trading organizations reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 percentage point increase compared with December 2025.

For trading services with 10 or more workers, 33% reported that their turnover had actually decreased, which was broadly stable compared with December and January 2025. More than one in five (23%) businesses reported that their turnover had actually increased, up 2 percentage points compared to December 2025. Typically, the proportion of services reporting that their turnover increased associated to the size of the business.

The exception to this was the percentage for organizations with 250 or more employees, which was 25%, and 5 portion points lower than December 2025 (30%). Trading businesses were asked how they expect their turnover to alter in the coming month. This can then be used to forecast how the business's turnover will really change as soon as that calendar month concludes.

Professional Analysis Into Corporate Leadership Dynamics

Trends between anticipated turnover and actual turnover have actually broadly moved in the exact same direction, the movements for expectations tend to be bigger. For presentational purposes, some action choices have actually been gotten rid of. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Care needs to be taken when interpreting expectations concerns, as the employees responding on behalf of businesses might not have full oversight of all of their business's future expectations.

ANSR July UK PRs

More than one in five (21%) trading organizations expect their turnover to increase in March 2026. This is a 6 percentage point rise from February 2026 however was broadly steady compared to expectations for March 2025 (22%). The percentage of trading businesses anticipating a boost in January 2026 was 13%, while the percentage that reported an actual increase in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a small pessimism in services expectations.

The trends have actually broadly followed each other considering that the questions were presented in April 2022. The outcomes for March 2026 follow the pattern from previous years, with the portion of companies anticipating turnover to increase peaking after a decline in January. Bigger companies were more likely to anticipate a boost in turnover in March, with the proportion ranging from 20% for companies with 0 to 9 workers, to 42% for organizations with 100 to 249 staff members.

For presentational functions, some response alternatives have actually been removed. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Care must be taken when interpreting expectations questions, as the workers responding on behalf of companies might not have complete oversight of all of their service's future expectations. "." represents information not yet readily available.

Strategic Analysis Into Corporate Management Shifts

The proportion of trading services that anticipated a decrease in January 2026 was 25%, while the proportion that reported a real decrease in turnover in January 2026 was 31%. The proportion of businesses expecting turnover to reduce for a particular month ahead of time has remained significantly lower than the proportion of services reporting a real reduction in that month considering that April 2022.

However, expectations for turnover to reduce have consistently followed the exact same pattern, as real reported turnover decreases throughout this time. Trading organizations were asked what challenges, if any, were impacting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading companies reported that financial uncertainty was having an influence on their turnover, which was broadly steady with early January 2026.

This is broadly steady compared to early January 2026 and 2 percentage points down compared with a year ago. For trading businesses with 10 or more staff members, expense of labour was the most often reported challenge, at 36%. This was broadly stable compared with early January 2026. Services with 10 to 49 workers were more likely to report cost of labour as a challenge than companies with 250 or more employees (37%, compared to 20%). One in 5 (20%) trading companies with 10 or more workers indicated that they were not presently experiencing any turnover difficulties in early February 2026. Further information on monetary efficiency, including all response choices categorised by market and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.