Business experts are expecting small businesses that depend on public sector contracts to be one of the first victims of the government's spending cuts.
A recent survey from R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals – found that one in three small firms rated themselves as fairly or very reliant on government contracts.
With the extent of the cuts soon to be revealed in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review, some parts of the country are bracing themselves.
Linda Farish of Newcastle accountants RMT told the Northern Echo that 150,000 small businesses in the north east of England could fold as a result.
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