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Survey reveals tough times for Yorkshire businesses

Businesses in West Yorkshire and the surrounding area have been through a tough year and still face an uncertain future, according to a survey carried out by Bradford chartered accountants Watson Buckle.

Many firms painted a gloomy picture of the local economy, with 21 per cent of respondents saying business had been a lot worse than usual over the last 12 months, and a further 24 per cent saying it had been a little worse. By contrast, 21 per cent thought business had been a little better and 13 per cent a lot better, with the remainder believing things had stayed about the same.

There was slightly more optimism about the year ahead, with 13 per cent expecting things to get a lot worse, and the same amount a little worse but the largest group (37 per cent) predicted business would be about the same as before, with 20 per cent expecting things to be a bit better and 17 per cent a lot better.

Business owners still saw a number of potential clouds on the horizon with weak customer spending (41 per cent) the biggest concern for the year ahead, followed by a lack of bank lending (31 per cent), tax levels (14 per cent), red tape (seven per cent) and late payers (seven per cent).

When asked to name the biggest potential opportunities for the year ahead, 38 per cent highlighted the prospect of improved bank lending, 34 per cent mentioned a general improvement in the overall economy and 28 per cent predicted improved availability of skilled workers.

There was good news for the new coalition government as 60 per cent of respondents agreed with their stance that tackling the deficit must be the government’s first priority. A further 13 per cent said the government should concentrate on forcing banks to lend more and 10 per cent wanted to see more investment in public services. A further 10 per cent thought the government should be cutting red tape, with just seven per cent opting for tax cuts first.

Watson Buckle managing partner Susan Sedgwick said: “There is no doubt that the last year or so has been very tough for small and medium-sized businesses in the area, so it is good to see that fewer firms expect things to get worse over the next year, compared to the year just gone.

“However, there are still a lot of firms out there who are experiencing problems, and concerns over bank lending and tax show that the government must continue to do all it can to make life easier for small and medium-sized businesses, to help them create jobs and contribute to the economy as they would like.”