State of the Region: Yorkshire businesses go for growth

THE majority of Yorkshire businesses expect to grow in the next 12 months as business leaders push for the region to compete internationally.

In TheBusinessDesk.com’s State of the Region survey, 45% of respondents said they expect their firm’s turnover to grow substantially over the year ahead, with only 2% stating that they expect their turnover to contract.

Speaking at a round table to discuss the economic outlook for the region, Sarah Day, managing partner of DLA Piper in Leeds, said that the firm is seeing investment as the “watch word” and levels of activity are rising.

“People are looking to recruit within the firm and our clients are, too. Businesses have been able to get their courage back up and that’s why we are seeing optimism and more activity,” she said.

Chairman of Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Roger Marsh, said: “We have got to keep explaining to people that it’s not about why, it is about why not. Why wouldn’t you want to be here?

“50% of research from universities in our city region is world-class. When you say that, people start to think ‘come on, this is a happening region’.”

However, Marsh said that although the Leeds City Region has huge potential, there are also things that have to be fixed. He said the region ranks poorly in terms of business start-ups and intellectual property patents, for example.

Discussing how the region as a whole can improve its position, Andy Caton, corporate development director at Yorkshire Building Society said it comes back to telling the story of the wider region and celebrating the region’s iconic achievements.

Businesses who took part in the discussion also shared what they were looking forward to in the year ahead.

Day said: “I’m looking forward to the fun coming back into business life. I think as the confidence and optimism starts to really take hold, it gives them courage for risk taking and means they can start shouting with one voice about what the region is all about.”

She emphasised that  companies must now have the ability and confidence to make changes in a positive environment to help them succeed.

Marsh said he is looking forward to the continued improvement of confidence in the region. “I’m looking forward to stretching the ambitions of the city region. It’s about building on that in a realistic and stretching sense, so we are a voice both compelling and one which can’t be ignored,” he said.

“There is definitely justification for the glass being more half full than half empty. There’s a general trend of that confidence being embedded and more optimistic about future plans. On the other hand, there are concerns about actually achieving growth.”

Jonathan Procter, partner and head of the Leeds Corporate Group at DLA Piper, said in the year ahead, he is looking forward to getting the message out there that Yorkshire is a “fantastic” place to live and work.

Chief executive of Leeds Building Society, Peter Hill, said that investment in technology and making sure all sizes of business have got access to and can understand the impact of technology will be important for his business in the year ahead.

“For us, the investment in technology over the next few years is going to be significant.  Technology, skills, ambition – all these skills must come together. We are coming into a market which is much more competitive but I think it is going to be a much more positive market. I think 2014/2015 will be good strong growth years for us. We increased headcount by 7% last year and it will be 10% this year.”

The business leaders taking part in the discussion were: Sarah Day, managing partner at DLA Piper, Leeds; Jonathan Procter, partner and head of the Leeds Corporate Group at DLA Piper; chairman of Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Roger Marsh; chief executive of Leeds Building Society, Peter Hill; Land Securities’ portfolio director, Gerald Jennings; Lee Collinson, managing director and head of Northern Key Clients at Barclays; John Sutcliffe, finance director at Henry Boot and Andy Caton, corporate development director at Yorkshire Building Society. The event was chaired by David Parkin, founder and director of TheBusinessDesk.com.