Over 60% of small businesses in the UK are confident about their business prospects for the coming year, according to a survey by BT.

The survey of over 7,000 small and medium-sized firms also revealed that 45% say their business operates for the better as a result of the downturn, 75% of SMEs believe the economy will see an upturn in 2010 and 35% predict an improvement by January 2010.

"Despite the obvious knock to confidence, positivity about when the upturn will come is encouraging. The UK's smaller firms are innovating to succeed and now more than ever, the right support and resources must be available to allow them to compete and thrive," said Mick Hegarty, of BT Business