Tees ring of confidence
A NEW report has highlighted rising confidence among Teesside firms as official figures confirmed the recession was not as deep as first feared in the second quarter.
UK output shrank by 0.6% during the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics - lower than original estimates of a 0.8% decline.
The upward revision comes amid claims that business confidence in the North-east is rising at record levels on the back of major investment.
According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the North-east is currently the second most confident region in England after the South-west.
Keith Proudfoot, ICAEW Northern regional director, said optimism had been fuelled by developments in the local renewable energy, electronics and process sectors, which had helped place the region “at the centre of the UK’s transition to low carbon industries”.
