Deloitte chief Sproul bullish on region’s prospects

THE North West’s vibrant entrepreneurial spirit is one of “many reasons to be cheerful”, according to David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte.

Mr Sproul, who was visiting the firm’s Manchester office, said the region is well placed at “granular level”, despite the “noise” around the UK’s loss of the AAA credit rating and the weak GDP data.

He told TheBusinessDesk.com the biggest opportunities for the region’s businesses lie in fast-growing international markets such as Brazil, China and India as societies there look to import UK services such as architecture and education.

“There is a great opportunity internationally that is going to play to our economy’s sweet spots – the last decade in the BRICs was about heavy industry, but now the growth opportunity is with aspiring middle classes, with economies that are becoming more urbanised and wanting services such as education and digital.

“It we can really mobilise around that export story, it’s very powerful.”

Deloitte has launched a growth programme called UK Futures which aims to harness the potential for British business at home and abroad.

Mr Sprould said the North West was a “very strong” part of its UK practice – the firm has 850 people in at its Liverpool and Manchester offices – and he has been impressed by the number and quality of dynamic SMEs in the region.

“Each region has different dynamics, but in the North West there is definitely a stronger cadre of entrepreneurial-led growing businesses which are invested in the North West.

“There’s a good mix of businesses too – financial services, lots of digital growth around MediaCity, which is encouraging. Thirdly there appears to be a strong ecosystem supporting businesses in the region, from the councils to the intermediaries, which is of course another positive.”