State of the Region 2013: Confidence boosts growth prospects

GROWTH plans have returned to agenda for businesses in the North West, and there is a greater recognition that this is a good region to be located.

And despite continuing concerns over access to finance and the euro zone, many organisations believe confidence is returning and the economic recovery is underway.
 
These are some of the key findings on TheBusinessDesk.com’s annual State of the Region survey, which provides a barometer of business sentiment across our three regions, North West, Yorkshire, and West Midlands.

The fourth year the survey has been run, it has once again been completed by hundreds of business leaders, with 67% of respondents in this region being either a business owner, chairman, chief executive, managing director, partner or director.

TheBusinessDesk.com has once again run this milestone project in association with lead sponsor, law firm DLA Piper. The initiative is also supported by Yorkshire Bank and the CBI.

In the North West, one of the most significant changes from last year’s survey was that business confidence in the region has been boosted, with 74% expecting to see turnover growth, compared with just 59% a year ago.

In addition, 70% said the region is a good place to do business, up from 64% last year.

Businesses identified bank lending as having the biggest impact in terms of restoring confidence (36%), with tax cuts also being seen as key (24%).

Despite the government’s moves to highlight exporting as a key way for the economy to recover, the majority of respondents saw regional and national markets as the best opportunities for expansion.

Europe and the BRIC economies were the global regions which businesses who are looking to trade internationally are most likely to focus on.

The region’s enterprise zones – pockets of land seen as hubs for job creation and growth trumpeted by the government – have seemingly taken a backward step in terms of public perception.

Some 67% of respondents to last year’s survey saw them as a positive step for the North West, while this year 59% said they were unsure whether enterprise zones, which exist in Manchester, Liverpool, Daresbury and Lancashire, will be good for the region.

Click here to download the State of the Region Survey 

Commenting on the results David Gray, office managing partner at DLA Piper in Manchester said: “A return to confidence amongst the business community is exactly what we need to collectively achieve growth and this burgeoning attitude is reflected throughout the results.

“Almost 75% are expecting growth of some kind, with just 6% predicting contraction – a much more positive picture than the previous 12 months.

“This is a sentiment that we have felt building over the last quarter, where businesses seem to be developing a renewed, albeit cautious, appetite for new opportunities rather than playing a game of wait and see.
 
“The next 12 months will not be without its challenges and, perhaps predictably, funding, price pressure and market demand all come through as key areas of concern.

“There is also some indication that enthusiasm to target international markets is waning slightly and this is a worry given that the competition faced by our regions is increasingly global. A focus on  international growth and recognition, coupled with a more bullish approach by corporates, will help to keep the wheels turning as we look forward into 2013.”

Phil Tarimo, regional director at Yorkshire Bank, added “The view of the potential for growth in turnover demonstrates the resilience of business owners across our region.

“Notwithstanding the economic conditions we have continued to see
businesses with an appetite for growth however, encouragingly, these
results show a much higher level of confidence and our desire to support
these growth aspirations is why we recently launched our Growing
Business initiative.

“The results also indicate businesses are looking to local markets more
than others which is something we have seen in our own research. The
importance of local customers and local suppliers is not to be underestimated.

“At the same time, the ease with which businesses can  now access new customers and suppliers on a national or even global level, thanks to the internet, should not be ignored.

Businesses are clearly not kidding themselves about the year ahead,
while they can see opportunities for improvement; the expectation is that
the economy will remain benign. That sanguine view is sensible and aids
effective planning for the year ahead.”