SW business confidence rises on back of positive trading outlook
Business confidence in the South West rose five points during September to 42%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
Companies in the South West reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 19 points at 55%. This was somewhat offset by a decrease in optimism in the economy, which dropped nine points to 29%, but still gives a headline confidence reading of 42% (vs. 37% in August).
A net balance of 36% of businesses in the region also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 24 points on last month.
Looking ahead to the next six months, South West businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example by hiring new employees (51%), evolving their offering, for example by introducing new products or services (45%) and entering new markets (36%).
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
National picture
Overall UK business confidence in September dipped slightly, to 47% down from August’s 50%.
Though there was a marginal increase in their own trading prospects (up two points month-on-month to 54%), firms’ confidence in the overall economy dropped nine points to 38%.
The joint-most confident regions in the UK were the West Midlands and London, both reporting overall confidence of 59%. Only Northern Ireland, Wales, London, the South West and North West reported an increase in overall confidence.
Sector Insights
Projections for output were mixed across the sectors, with some showing significant changes from previous results. In construction, the sharp increase last month was largely counteracted by a drop in expectations in September, falling by 12 points to 46%.
Similarly, in manufacturing, trading prospects fell for a second month to 53%, although this figure is still stronger than the year-on-year figure. However, the falls in manufacturing & construction sectors were more than offset by a small rise in retail and a bigger rise in the dominant service sector.
Amanda Dorel, regional director for the South West at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, stated: “Firms’ confidence in their own prospects has strengthened this September, a testament particularly to hospitality and leisure businesses who successfully navigated their way through a challenging period of summer trading.
“As businesses strive to capitalise on this positive outlook – be it by investing in workforce development or introducing new services – we’ll be there providing on-the-ground support to assist them in achieving their goals.”
