State of the Region: Austerity measures won’t stop growth
THE economic outlook for the West Midlands during 2011 appears rosy with plenty of business confidence that both revenues and staff numbers will grow.
Targeting new UK markets and a strong belief the West Midlands is a good place to do business are two of the drivers behind this faith in a prosperous performance for the region’s industries.
These are just a few findings from the first ever West Midlands ‘State of the Region Survey’ run by TheBusinessDesk.com, in association with key sponsor, law firm DLA Piper.
Completed by hundreds of business people from across the region, the survey gives an indication of how the business community sees the next 12 months playing out and what effect the Coalition Government will have.
Business confidence is clearly not in short supply with 61% expecting to see their businesses grow, 43% foreseeing an expanding payroll during 2011 and 58% feeling the West Midlands is a good place to do business.
A further 39% said they felt the region was a good place to do business, but was lagging behind other areas of the UK.
Targeting new UK markets is by far the most popular business objective with 59% choosing this as their main aim for 2011, followed by 25% saying they would be developing new products or services.
Russell Orme, managing Partner at DLA Piper Birmingham, pictured, said: “The results of the survey say a great deal about the spirit and resilience of the West Midlands’ business community.
“The business community accepts that these are challenging times but 2011 is not a time for standing still.
“Businesses have been adopting innovative approaches and have been forced to scrutinise their strategies and strengths as well as their weaknesses.
“As a result of this, many have developed a more robust and sustainable business model for the future.”
The long-running saga over Local Enterprise Partnerships appears to have confused more than it has inspired in the region with not a single respondent believing there is a clear understanding of LEPs’ roles.
Almost half (48%) think there is very limited understanding of the LEPs while only 7% said they had a “very clear” understanding of funding initiatives, such as the Regional Growth Fund.
A total of 68% believe their business will be directly impacted by public spending cuts, 46% sees these cuts as the year’s biggest challenge and 52% think the Coalition Government will have a negative effect on the UK economy.
Despite this, the majority of respondents (59%) feel the Government’s public spending cuts are necessary and will stabilise the economy.
A further 17% believe it could have preserved public confidence by making the cuts less drastically and stretching them out over a longer period of time.
Only 3% say the Coalition should have carried on where the previous Government left off until the recession ended.
Mr Orme added: “I have worked in the Birmingham office of DLA Piper for more than a decade and during that time I have been impressed by the strong sense of community among businesses in the West Midlands.
“The region has some exceptionally talented and dynamic personalities among its business leaders and strong business forums who can make a real difference – that is if they forge a single spearhead approach.
“The success of LEPs will be dependent upon real partnership working between the public and private sectors.
“It will be necessary for all parties to bring the necessary resources and skill sets to bear and to determine their priorities in a strategic context so as to ensure economic growth in an era of public expenditure cutbacks.
“There is uncertainty, however, as to how LEPs will fulfil strategic functions in the context of the existing statutory framework.”
- Download DLA Piper’s analysis of the survey by clicking through here.
Tomorrow: About Your Business
What do you think of the results? Are you confident about the future? Please leave your comments below.
