Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 3 April 2025

4th April 2025

In late March 2025, nearly a third (32%) of businesses with 10 or more employees reported they had some form of concern about their supply chains over the next 12 months. this is up 2 percentage points from late December 2024 and up 5 percentage points compared to late September 2024.

Of the 32% of businesses with 10 or more employees that reported having at least one concern about their future supply chains, 53% reported that they expect to be impacted by the increased costs of sourcing materials, up 6 percentage points from late December 2024.

In late March 2025, nearly three in five (58%) businesses reported that they were not concerned about the impact climate change may have on their business, broadly stable with late December 2024.

More than one in six (18%) businesses reported that they are currently using some form of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in late March 2025, broadly stable with late December 2024, but up 8 percentage points since the question was first introduced in late September 2023; for businesses with 250 employees or more, this increased to 31%, up 13 percentage points compared to September 2023.

When asked in late March 2025, 77% of businesses reported they were not planning to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the next three months, down 3 percentage points since late December 2024; the transportation and storage and construction industries had the largest proportion of businesses to report this, at 87% and 86% respectively.

In late March 2025, 59% of all businesses reported they have a high or moderate level of confidence they will be able to meet their current debt obligations, while 3% had low or no confidence, both broadly stable with late December 2024; in contrast, 28% reported they currently have no debt obligations, down 3 percentage points over the same period.

Read the full report HERE