Partner Article

New business better in North East

The North East is one of the best regions in which to start a new business, according to Business and Enterprise North East (BENE) statistics.

Their Business Link service has helped more people than ever before, creating 4,384 new businesses in the region.

Alastair MacColl, Chief Executive of BENE, said: “These results are very encouraging and demonstrate their continuing vigour of our business community.

“However there is still a huge amount of work to be done to ensure that North East England meets the challenges of the current economic downturn and is best placed to take advantage when the upturn comes.”

Despite the extra help from Business Link, figures released today show that North East business owners are actually among the most pessimistic in the country.

Clifton Asset Management (CAM) research shows that only 25% of business owners in the North East felt their home region was better placed than the rest of the UK, compared to London and the South East with 61% and 56% respectively.

CAM director Anthony Carty said: “While this recession has been portrayed in some circles as a ‘white-collar recession’, it is interesting that business owners in London and the South East remain the most optimistic about their regions, while those in traditional industrial areas such as the West Midlands and North East are at the opposite end of the scale.”

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