The Bank of England has undertaken an innovative new survey that collects data on business investment and financing decisions — the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. About two thirds of UK businesses deemed that their investment levels have been appropriate in recent years, but one third felt that their investment had been too low. Businesses that regarded investment as too low cited financial and real economic barriers to investment. When making investment decisions many firms impose a fixed required rate of return, or ‘hurdle rate’, on investment. The average hurdle rate across UK businesses was 12%.