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Improving economic forecast welcomed

Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have welcomed new forecasts that predict stronger growth in the next three years.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) believes the UK economy will now grow by 0.9 per cent in 2013, up from 0.7 per cent, and that it will grow by 1.7 per cent in 2014 and 2.4 per cent in 2015.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Confidence is key to the economy and over recent weeks and months there have been signs that we slowly are building towards a recovery.

“That said, growth is still not strong enough and, with a Spending Review imminent, we would like to see the Chancellor use that to support enterprise and assist businesses in their plans to invest and export.

“Sticking to the plan to get the deficit down is a priority but any new measures have to be introduced with growth and jobs in mind.”

The service sector is predicted to be the main driver for growth over the next three years.

Bennett said: “Hopefully our service sector companies in Coventry and Warwickshire can be buoyed by these figures and look to grow over the coming months and years.

“Nationally, manufacturing is predicted to have modest growth but we hope to buck that trend here as we are bringing together several organisations to deliver unrivalled support for our manufacturers and engineers so they know exactly where to go if they want to grow.”

Nick Abell, senior partner at law firm Wright Hassall – a strategic partner of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “A strong pick-up for the service sector is positive news.

“There is certainly a feeling that we are over the worst of the economic crisis but it’s now a case of building towards a strong and sustained recovery.

“Of course, we also want to see stronger construction and manufacturing sectors because they are of crucial importance to our region – and their success will also have a positive knock-on effect for the service sector too.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lee Corden .