UK business leaders are under pressure to cut costs, claims a report by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

UK business leaders are under pressure to cut costs, claims a report by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Of the 69 CEOs surveyed, almost all (96 per cent) had implemented a cost reduction initiative in the past year, and 74 per cent said that they would continue to do so in 2010.

The study also found that just under two-thirds (61 per cent) of respondents were concerned about the threat of over-regulation, and a similar percentage (65 per cent) thought that the government should improve policy-setting processes to ensure that regulations are clear and stable.

Paul Walsh, CEO of drinks manufacturer Diageo, said: ‘Hasty regulation will be bad regulation and my concern is that creativity, innovation, and enterprise will be stifled at a time when they should be encouraged.’

Almost half (49 per cent) of the respondents anticipated difficult access to debt markets and 68 per cent expected to change capital structures as a result of the crisis.

In addition, businesses are unlikely to pursue growth overseas. Only 14 per cent of respondents saw new geographic markets as an opportunity to grow their business, compared with 22 per cent in 2009 and 28 per cent in 2008.