The failure of European M&A to ignite in 2005 is forcing firms to downgrade their earning predictions, according to Legal Week’s quarterly business confidence poll, which shows many leading commercial firms now expecting modest growth.

The Legal Week/ EJ Legal Big Question legal survey of 100 leading commercial lawyers found 92% of respondents are expecting turnover to rise during the next 12 months, a minor fall on the 93% predicting rising fee income in the previous poll in January.