Companies across the island of Ireland have started the year on a solid footing and are optimistic about the future.
Those are the main findings of a survey carried out by cross-border agency InterTradeIreland which reported that the number of firms which classed their business as stable was at a four-year high in the first quarter of the year.
Around 55% of businesses surveyed both in Northern Ireland and the Republic said they were stable while 36% reported growth. Encouragingly, a third of those surveyed are optimistic about an increase in sales in the next six months.
