Fewer North West SMEs choosing to export, says data

SMEs in the North West are selling less overseas but have forecast an increase in export revenue during H1 2016, according to new data.

Lloyds Bank’s latest Business in Britain report found that the number of exporters in the North West dropped during the second half of 2015, falling from 39% in June to 33% at the end of December.

For the region’s businesses that do export, foreign sales remained steady at 36%.

The report comes as UK Trade & Investment this week (April 18 - 22) launches Exporting is Great, its campaign to get more companies in the UK to explore new markets overseas.

The report also showed that 38% of North West SMEs increased overseas sales in H2 2015, while 40% maintained their current export levels and 23% saw a decrease.

Further, it was found that 43% of the region’s exporters have forecast an upward trend in foreign sales in the six months to June 2016. Although this figure is 2% less than the same period last year, half of the North West’s exporters still expect their ability to compete internationally to improve. Conversely, 13% expect their ability to compete to deteriorate.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s North West regional director, Martyn Kendrick, said: “As weakening growth in China and the Eurozone creates headwinds for some exporters, it’s unsurprising to see that less of the North West’s SME exporters are generating their sales overseas, but encouraging to see that more businesses are still looking to grow those international sales in the year ahead.

“Starting or scaling-up export activity can be a daunting prospect for businesses, but the benefits are many and we are working hard to support North West firms’ export ambitions.”

Launched 24 years ago, the Business in Britain report collates the views of 1,500 firms – primarily SMEs – from across the UK.