Member Article

North East business reaction to GDP figures

A number of leading North East business people have given their reaction to the announcement that the UK economy grew by 0.3% in the first three months of 2013 according to the Office of National Statistics’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures.

Mike Odysseas, Managing Director of Odyssey Systems Ltd, said:

“It’s great that the growth figures are slightly up today as it will boost confidence in the economy and shows the Chancellor’s cost cutting measures to bring down taxes for businesses like mine are starting to work.

“That said, I think there’s a lot of excess drama surrounding today’s announcement because of the miniscule margins involved and, in reality, the figures don’t affect the day to day running of my business.

“Businesses like mine are at the frontline of the economy, and due to the hard work of staff and maintenance of high standards, our growth is outpacing the GDP figures. Our results showing we have achieved a modest five per cent growth this year despite the challenging conditions. This sustained growth for Odyssey shows we are reaping the rewards of 26 years of excellent customer service.”

Bryan Bunn, Managing Director at the Nortech group of companies, a successful professional engineering design and project management company based at Wynyard, said:

“These positive growth figures are to be welcomed as they demonstrate that the UK is emerging from the doldrums. I am seeing major growth in the UK oil & gas industry, and certainly our company is a good news story with an additional investment in thirty six new jobs from late 2012.

“The North sea oil and gas industry is one of the economic powerhouses driving the UK economy and its crucial importance cannot be underestimated. I believe we now have real reason to be positive, and that potentially we are now turning a corner and will avoid the much-talked about ‘triple dip’ recession.

“We now need to focus on raising the profile of Britain’s growing oil and gas sector, to foster innovation and attract the best talent into the industry.”

Paul Moore, Managing Director of Southdale, which has offices in Halifax, Darlington and Warrington, said:

“Even if construction had flat-lined over the course of the last 12 months, it would have pushed overall GDP up considerably. The positive effects of a successful construction industry are far reaching, particularly because the vast majority of the supply chain is domestic, meaning that each level puts taxes into the Treasury and creates and sustains UK jobs.”

Tony Slimmings, Director at WR Financial, said:

“The marginal growth shown in the GDP figures is encouraging. The figures reflect what we have been seeing here at the sharp end of the economy – the nature of our business means we get to see what is happening with recruitment, contract wins and company investment, and the signs are encouraging.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Recognition PR Business Team .