Region's businesses in growth drive, suggests report
Businesses in the West Midlands are reporting higher turnover and rising employment going into 2011. That’s according to the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor, which predicts growth for the region in the year ahead.
Average turnover is 4 per cent higher than a year ago, while gross profits and sales volumes are 4.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent higher respectively, the survey suggests.
The rate of growth has also strengthened compared to last quarter. In the 12 months to Q1 2010 annual turnover, gross profit and sales volume were reported to have expanded by 2.4 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.
Businesses in the West Midlands report their number of employees to be on average 0.2 per cent higher than 12 months ago.
Nigel Hastilow, ICAEW West Midlands regional director, said: “Despite the disappointing GDP figures for the last quarter of 2010, BCM provides some positive signs for the West Midlands economy. We appear to be benefiting from the weak value of sterling making export growth particularly strong, for example.
But there is no doubt businesses in the region face a tough economic environment with the VAT increase and the rise in the cost of living and with confidence still on a downward trend which started in Q2 2010. It’s clear business leaders in the region are under no illusion about the challenges ahead.”
