Region most confident as it bucks profit slide trend

YORKSHIRE business leaders are among the most confident in the UK having suffered less from falling profits in the first half of 2009 than their national counterparts.

According to a survey by banking group Santander, 86% of the region’s firms are confident in the prospects of their own business during the remainder of 2009.

It found that one in four (27%) firms are ‘very confident’ while 59% are ‘confident’, 12% are ‘not very confident’ and just 2% are ‘not at all confident’.

The Santander Corporate Banking Business Confidence Index showed that profitability was the factor most responsible for the level of confidence with around a quarter citing this as the most important indicator for them.

Profit is closely followed by turnover (22%) and forward orders (20%) as the most crucial pointers.

Meanwhile, firms in the middle of the country are most pessimistic about prospects with the West and East Midlands taking up two of the bottom three places alongside Wales.

The North West and Scotland shares Yorkshire’s optimism.

However, while positive about their own firms, Yorkshire business owners are slightly less confifdent about the prospects for companies in their region in general with only 8% saying they were ‘very confident’.

Nearly 70% of respondents said they were confident while 25% expressed a lack of confidence.

The optimistic business outlook comes as the research reveals that the same percentage of businesses in Yorkshire suffered from falling profits in the first half of 2009, as those who have enjoyed increased profit levels (32%).

This compares with a national picture of 46% of businesses suffering falling profits against 23% enjoying increased profits.

Neil Williams, regional director for Yorkshire at Santander Corporate Banking, said: “Our research indicates that there is a higher than expected level of confidence and optimism amongst businesses in Yorkshire.

“Despite the majority of organisations experiencing a tough time during the current economic downturn, there are encouraging signs that many of them might now be turning a corner.”

He added: “It is important that the banking sector supports these businesses and helps them to turn their confidence into profits. Banks need to learn from the downturn and build stronger relationships with their customers in order to provide solutions that will help their stability and growth.”