Member Article

North East businesses feeling positive

Businesses in North East England are among the most confident in the country, according to research released last week.

More than half of the North East companies taking part in the National Business Survey say that they expect the business climate to improve or remain stable over the next 12 months, making the North East the third most confident region.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos Mori and managed by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), found that national business confidence has unsurprisingly shown a marked downturn over the past year. Almost half of the companies taking part expected the business climate to deteriorate in the next 12 months. This compares to just over 1 in 10 who expect the business climate to improve.

Businesses in North East England were more optimistic in some key areas than those in other regions, with their forecasts for recruitment over the next 12 months almost unchanged compared to those seen last year, and slightly more businesses than last year saying they expect to see growth in exports over the next 12 months.

One NorthEast Chairman, Margaret Fay, said: “The North East is facing the current slowdown after a strong and sustained period of growth and with a broader business base. Our work to help employers maximise their competitiveness and productivity through projects such as the North East Productivity Alliance and Energy Resource Efficiency, along with the region’s Access to Finance programme, will continue to help businesses during this time.”

The survey also shows that awareness amongst businesses of the role of One NorthEast as an RDA was higher than that of any other region. The survey report can be viewed at www.englandsrdas.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .