Business confidence in region below the average

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE in Yorkshire and the Humber is four points below the national average in January, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The region has an overall confidence of 31 per cent, which is below the average across the UK of 35 per cent, the survey said.

Across the region, a net balance of 12 per cent of businesses feel that the UK’s exit from the European Union is having a negative impact on their expectations for business activity.

Nationally, overall confidence rose seven points to a nine-month high, driven mainly by a rise in firms’ economic optimism.

A spokesman said: “The Business Barometer provides early signals about UK economic trends and has been run monthly since January 2002. This is the first time that the survey, which questioned 1,200 businesses, has been carried out on a regional as well as national basis.”

Steve Harris, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s disappointing to see that firms are less optimistic than the UK as a whole. The sentiment felt by Yorkshire businesses contrasts with their neighbours in the North West, which is one of the most optimistic regions with big employment prospects.

“While firms have a pessimistic outlook to the economy and Brexit, they still seem relatively confident with their expectations to increase business activity.”

Yorkshire businesses’ economic optimism (22 per cent) is nine points lower than the national average of 31 per cent.

Meanwhile, their confidence in their own business prospects (39 per cent) is in line with the national average.

Overall confidence is the highest among businesses in London and the North West, the survey found.