East Midlands business confidence on the rise

Business confidence in the East Midlands is improving, making it one of just three regions with a brighter outlook in September.

According to a survey by Lloyds Bank among business leaders, priorities for future growth include hiring more employees, enhancing their products and services, and investing in new technology.

The local outlook surpassed the UK average.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s latest business barometer, which polled 1,200 businesses, provides insights into economic trends at both regional and national levels.

In September, business confidence in the East saw a notable increase of eight points, rising from 25% to 33%. This places them among the three regions that experienced an uptick in confidence.

East Midlands businesses have identified their primary growth priorities, with 41% focusing on investing in their teams, 40% on evolving their offerings, and another 40% on investing in new technology.

Nationally, the overall business confidence in the UK declined by five points in September, decreasing from 41% to 36%. Firms’ outlook on future trading prospects also saw a slight drop, going from last month’s reading of 46% to 41%.

The most significant decline in business confidence was observed in the retail and services sectors, which experienced a notable drop after a period of strong sentiment in August.

Although there was also a decrease in construction confidence, the manufacturing sector exhibited greater strength, as confidence reached its highest point in three months.

Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “While the gains in business confidence we saw in August have not been maintained, it’s important to see the wider trend clearly reflected in the data which paints a very different picture to this time 12 months ago, when the economy was in significant difficulties. Despite some month-to-month movements, if you look at the year in quarterly time periods, confidence has steadily risen from 20% in the first quarter, 26% in the second and now an average of 27% in the third.

“Although the economic environment remains uncertain with inflation and interest rate pressures playing their part, the recent decision by the Bank of England to leave interest rates unchanged is likely to help businesses feel more upbeat about the future, which may underpin confidence in the last three months of the year.”