Business conditions remained poor, Doncaster survey shows
BUSINESS CONDITIONS remained historically poor in Doncaster during the first quarter of 2021 as the third lockdown severely limited activity, according to a survey,
The Doncaster Business Insight (DBI) survey is part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) and provides an indication of business sentiment and UK GDP growth.
Findings revealed that business confidence has been boosted in the first three months of 2021 amid the strong vaccine rollout and the Government’s roadmap providing some ability for companies to forward plan.
It showed that 52 per cent of businesses expect turnover to grow over the next 12 months.
Jade Dyer, business director at Doncaster Chamber, said: “The latest survey results indicate a difficult first quarter of the year for Doncaster’s economy, as a third lockdown and post-Brexit disruption impacted key indicators like domestic sales and cashflow.
“Without a substantial improvement in customer demand, businesses will not be able to raise revenues, cash reserves and operational capacity.
“Nonetheless, business confidence has improved considerably since December 2020.
“Although forecasting findings demonstrate that businesses are beginning to feel optimistic, there is much that needs to be done to ensure that hope is translated into reality.
“The Government must provide businesses with absolute clarity on its roadmap out of lockdown so that firms, especially those in the worst-affected sectors, can make plans for how they will operate in the upcoming months.”
The renewed feeling of optimism was reflected in the national QES results.
Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce, said: “The damage wrought to trading conditions by repeated lockdowns and issues at the border will not be repaired by renewed confidence alone.
“The Government must recognise the compounded impact that the combination of the pandemic and Brexit-related issues have had on firms up and down the country.”