Businesses confident for the future but face challenges today

After a challenging 12 months and with the view shared by the Bank of England recently that the country should expect unprecedented growth, the West & North and Mid Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce have revealed the results of its quarterly economic survey.

The report showed that the longer-term outlook will see positivity returning but that shorter term challenges remain as a result of restrictions and Brexit fallout impacting sales.

Similar to the opinion shared by Dr Gertjan Vlieghe when he sat down with TheBusinessDesk.com recently, the survey shows a sectoral imbalance as professional services businesses and those within the digital sector reported stronger sales activities as would be expected than those in the visitor economy and hospitality sectors.

Nick Garthwaite, chair of West & North Yorkshire Chamber, said: “Results this quarter suggest that companies are preparing for the future and confidence is beginning to grow. Recruitment activities appear to be increasing and investment plans starting to be reviewed. There are still challenges ahead, we need to see infection rates continuing to fall and vaccine roll out getting to all parts of our communities.”

Commenting on the challenges businesses are facing Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce managing director Martin Hathaway added: “Businesses are still facing challenges with trading arrangements following the UK’s departure from the EU, with manufacturing export sales levelling off and expectations of price rises in this sector.

“While the economic climate is nowhere near ideal, I am confident that we can recover from this together in the coming months.”

Roger Marsh OBE DL, chair, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and chair, NP11 said: “Despite the lockdown at the start of 2021 there are signs of optimism among the region’s businesses in the first quarter of the year. Domestic sales have increased compared to Q4, and business confidence for the year ahead is rising.

“It’s positive to see businesses looking to recruit and expand their workforce at a faster pace than we have seen in recent months, investment in capital equipment is also increasing.

“Whilst this is positive, some challenges remain. Export sales and orders were both impacted as the trading arrangements with the EU changed. Consumer-facing companies have also responded less positively to the QES than other sectors. This is thought to be linked to the impact of restrictions on these businesses.

“The challenges faced by many businesses emphasise the need to remain vigilant, and do all we can to ensure the vaccine rollout and other measures to suppress the virus are as effective as possible to enable our region to build back better from the pandemic.”