Optimism among consumer services firms, including management and legal services companies, hotels and bars has hit a 15-month low, according to research by the CBI.

The number of employees in restaurants and cinemas also fell in the three months to February and will continue to fall in the current quarter, according to the report compiled by Grant Thornton.

Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic advisor, said: "The services sector is beginning to feel the slowdown under way in other parts of the economy and firms are concerned about the outlook for their business over the coming year.

"While demand has held up for most business services firms, some in management and legal services have been hit by slower mergers and acquisitions activity."

Meanwhile, the number of British companies making domestic acquisitions fell to its lowest level in six years as bidders wait for valuations to correct following the credit crunch in the debt markets according to research by the Office for National Statistics.

Domestic acquisitions fell from 253 in the third quarter of 2007 to 169 in the fourth quarter, dropping from £7.8bn to £2.7bn in value.