North West firms are increasingly confident in their own business prospects, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
The survey, which questions 1,200 businesses monthly and provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide, revealed 28% of North West businesses felt positive about their trading prospects, up seven points on last month.
When taken alongside their views of the economy, overall confidence dipped three points to 23% to be in line with UK as a whole which stayed static for a second month.
Meanwhile, businesses’ hiring intentions in the region were unchanged, with 15% of firms in the North West expecting to hire more staff during the year, level with January’s figure.
Martyn Kendrick, regional director for the North West at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:“Recent weeks have boosted optimism for North West firms, with announcements of improvements to local infrastructure likely to be buoying confidence in the region.
“Major infrastructure pledges from rail operators like Avanti and Arriva, shake-ups in rail franchises and clarity regarding HS2 will be welcomed by local businesses for the boost they can bring to the region’s prosperity.
“The announcements also come at a time when efforts to rebalance the economy and bring greater prosperity to the North are of national priority. We’ll be working with businesses in the region by lending up to £1.3billion during 2020 as part of our plan to help Britain prosper.”
Across the region, a net balance of 9% of businesses said they felt that the UK’s exit from the European Union was having a positive impact on their expectations for business activity. This compares with a net balance of 12% of businesses who said it was having a negative impact on their business expectations in January.
