Lloyds Bank data highlights the extent of North West exports

To coincide with the start of Export Week, which sees UK Trade & Investment embark on five days of events promoting the advantages offered by overseas markets, Lloyds Bank has provided a window into the North West’s SME exporting scene.

According to the bank’s data, export levels in the region are “solid”, with around 39% of small and medium-sized enterprises currently selling their goods and services abroad.

For those that do export, the activity counts for an average of 35% of their overall sales turnover.

Furthermore, at the end of June 2015, more than half of the North West businesses surveyed expected to ramp up exporting in the second half of the year, while 34% said their exporting activity would remain unchanged and 9% forecast a decrease.

Just over one in four (27%) said they were concerned by a weakening demand for their products and services here in the UK.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s North West director for SME banking, Martyn Kendrick, said: “Establishing or scaling up export activity can be a daunting prospect for businesses, but the benefits are many – as the local firms already trading overseas can testify.

“We are working with UKTI, through a strategic partnership, to support small firms’ export ambitions and provide insight, support and introductions.”

He continued: “To underline our commitment to boosting international trade, we’ve pledged to grow our provision of trade finance to SMEs by 25%.

“I’d encourage all local businesses looking to develop their export strategy to get involved in one of the many excellent Export Week events being run across the North West.”

Elsewhere, Lloyds data shows that Europe continues to be a key market for North West companies, with 52% of the region’s companies increasing Eurozone exports. Similarly, sales in the Canadian and US markets are set to increase by 27% and 28% respectively by the end of 2015.