In Focus: Opportunity knocks?
Insider editor Richard Abbott looks ahead to opportunities for Yorkshire in 2012.
Welcome back from the festive break. I hope you are feeling rested and raring to go (or at least something approaching that).
It's about this time of year that editors like to make predictions for the year ahead. This time last year, I made the bold-but-ultimately-safe forecast that interest rates would remain unchanged for the duration of the year.
So here comes prediction number one: same again. We won't see the base rate shift upwards until 2013 at the earliest. The prospects for recovery are far too fragile to make a rate rise realistic.
Growth will be anaemic in the year ahead. Business confidence will be hard to find, given the ongoing plight of the eurozone economy and the challenges of accessing finance. Deals will continue to be drawn-out affairs.
On the positive side, I expect that cash-rich international buyers will continue to look for strategic acquisitions, and Yorkshire has already demonstrated that it has some truly world-class businesses that are ripe for M&A.
As and when stability begins to return, it is likely that a number of delayed deals will begin to progress. Until that time, for most of us, the waiting game will go on.
I expect 2012 to be the year that Yorkshire and Humberside takes a reality check on renewables. This is an industry that one day could create thousands of jobs, as local businesses feed into the supply chain for offshore wind and carbon capture storage. But rather than being all things to all men, it is time to focus on the key areas that will position Yorkshire as the ‘go-to’ region.
2012 will also be the year that the government decides where to locate its Green Investment Bank. It would be nonsensical to position this anywhere other than Leeds, which has a compelling case, perfect location and superb bid team.
The conditions for international expansion are good, with opportunities not just in the BRIC economies but also in untapped markets such as Colombia and Vietnam. We should be on a road to slow and steady recovery over the next couple of years, so it's a good time for businesses to invest for growth, to reach their global potential.
As ever, Insider will continue to highlight the great things that are happening in Yorkshire business.
By that, I don't mean that we wear rose-tinted glasses, ignoring the reality of the challenging economic climate. Rather, we dig deeper into the regional business scene to unearth the deals, success stories, innovations and tales of entrepreneurialism that make our region so colourful and dynamic.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our round tables, breakfast debates or awards dinners this year. I've got a feeling its going to be a challenging but rewarding 12 months.
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