Region less confident
SMALL businesses in the North-east believe they will face much tougher trading conditions over the next year, according to a new report.
Around two-thirds of the region’s businesses surveyed for Yorkshire Bank’s first business confidence index believe markets will be tighter than last year and not one thought that conditions would improve.
But there were some signs of optimism with more than a third believing their own business would improve over the next year. And around a quarter of small and medium sized enterprises in the region said the market was easier than it was five years ago, way above the national average of 13%
Yorkshire Bank regional director Kath Myers said: “It’s hardly surprising that UK SMEs are expecting a bit more turbulence in their markets. For the past five years the UK has been both economically and politically stable, house prices continued to rise and interest rates were, up until the start of the year, at expected levels. However, since the start of the year we’ve seen rate rises, and the US sub-prime market collapse.”
