Autumn 2025 – Executive Summary
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The Autumn 2025 survey of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce shows softening confidence but continued commitment to the UK market.
Currently, 39% of respondents view their UK operations as performing positively or very positively, 40% as stable, and 21% as negative. These figures show a slight deterioration compared with the spring survey, suggesting that while sentiment remains generally positive, the economic environment has become more challenging for some. Consequently, the short-term outlook is less optimistic than six months ago. Now only 14% of firms expect the UK economy to improve over the next twelve months, while 42% anticipate sluggish performance.
The UK market’s importance remains a key driver of German investment in the country. However, investment plans within the German-British business community have been scaled back, with only about a quarter (down from one-third in spring) planning to expand activities in the next twelve months.
By a clear margin, our community believes that the UK Government’s top priority should be to continue improving relations with the European Union but measures to strengthen the UK’s regulatory competitiveness also remain vital for businesses.
The majority (54%) of companies are currently not affected by US trade policies – a slightly higher share than in spring – potentially indicating that more firms now focus solely on the British market, using the UK less as an international hub.
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14% of the survey participants have a positive outlook for the UK economy
(slightly up from 10% in spring 2025)
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39% see their own operations performing positively
(down from 47% in spring 2025)
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54% of companies are currently not affected by US trade policies
(a slightly higher percentage than in spring 2025)
