UK consumer firms less hopeful

Consumer businesses in the UK expect to see an increase in their company's financial performance this year, but their confidence is lower than the global trend, according to KPMG International. Some 52 per cent of UK consumer businesses believe that performance will improve in 2011, compared to 76 per cent of global businesses in the sector.

UK consumer business leaders also have a lower expectation of the level of consumer spending: 45 per cent predict an increase in their target markets, compared with 76 per cent globally, according to KPMG's report, CFO Insights: A Global Survey of Consumer Markets Executives.