It is always worth listening to Fred Done. In our long discussion the Salford-born bookie says many wise things. He sees trends on the high street, he detects cultural shifts at an early stage. And he gets most calls right when it comes to sporting matters.
But perhaps the most important thing he said is this: “On the economy, we’re in for a torrid time over the next five years. It’s going to be a horrible time, but the optimist in me says there are going to be opportunities. I’ve backed some young companies and some will be massive successes. But everyone’s going to work a bit harder, get up a bit earlier to dig for the worms.”
There is nothing more horrible in business than uncertainty. And at the moment the transition from one way of operating to another is in a state of flux. It isn’t clear whether the banks are open for business. They say they are. They quote statistics that show they are, they anecdotally mention deals that prove they are. Yet survey after survey from businesses reflects a different sentiment.
At a governmental level, it is clear there is to be no future for the regional development agencies. But what will replace them is far from clear as we explore in the magazine. In theory, local economic partnerships (LEPs) offer businesses an unprecedented degree of power over economic policy and the coordination of business support and public sector resources. In practice, we can only speculate. Greater Manchester has effectively been running a shadow development agency in readiness of this for two years. Beyond that? I don’t have the same confidence in the political and business leaders of Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Cumbria to be able to articulate the same coherent case for their LEPs by 6 September.
Rightly, the Northwest Regional Development Agency has laid out the stark reality for the organisations and projects it funds: there will be no more money. It could be said that the good schemes and worthy organisations will be able to apply to a Regional Growth Fund that Lord Heseltine is chairing, or expect support from the LEPs. But I can’t say with any certainty that will be the case.
But in business there are, as Fred Done says, some enormous opportunities, too. How they are created and supported will never be the same.
Michael Taylor, editor
Also in: August 2010
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Wayne's World
In a new book on the rise of Manchester United and England footballer Wayne Rooney, investigative journalist John Sweeney lifts the lid on the murky world beneath. Jamie Kenny caught up with him.
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Fred Done
There’s never a dull moment in Fred Done’s business world. And as he tells Michael Taylor, even at 67, he’s still a fast mover willing to change to stay ahead.