Small business is defined as a privately owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized business.

More than seven in 10 firms in a survey by the FSB said they did not expect to raise capital spending in the next quarter, the highest figure in two years.

The FSB says the current standstill over Britain’s path to Brexit has left small firms “hamstrung” and struggling to expand, hire and increase productivity.

Brexit is the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The United Kingdom is the only sovereign country to have left the European Union. The United Kingdom has been a member state of the union and its predecessor the European Communities since 1 January 1973.

The FSB survey also suggests growing caution among lenders as signs stack up of a slowdown in the United Kingdom economy.

More than four in 10 of its member firms said new credit was “unaffordable,” the highest in more than four years.

Lending to consumers also increased at its smallest annual rate in more than five years in May, according to separate data from the Bank of England.

In the manufacturing sector, a key index of United Kingdom performance slid to a six-year low on Monday, as a survey highlighted sinking output and employment levels.

He also took aim at Conservative leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, who have talked up their willingness to lead Britain out of the European Union without a deal.