16 bdo thames valley – business barometer
A quarterly street-level view of business sentiment ...
... helping to inform decisions on growth, investment and employment in the region
"Business leaders must start thinking about what they need to do to prepare themselves for a growth market rather than a recessionary one"
Accountants and business consultants BDO LLP, in conjunction with marketing specialists C8 Consulting, have published the results of the fifth Thames Valley Business Barometer. Taken from a survey of the region’s business community, this regular report provides a snapshot of business sentiment across the Thames Valley and has created a picture of emerging trends over the past few years.
The latest survey ran for six weeks during October and November and included in-depth profiles of five Thames Valley businesses: Cloud Distribution; Leasedrive; The Ridgeway Group; Stoke Park and Distribution Technology and a roundtable discussion of the results by members of the Barometer Panel.
Business confidence takes a turn for the best
BDO’s latest Business Trends report, published in January 2014 and covering the entire UK economy, showed a rise in business confidence for the 11th consecutive month, pointing to an economic recovery which will gather pace in the first half of 2014. The indicators seem to be pointing to a brighter future for UK businesses and in the Thames Valley it is a similar story. In the latest Thames Valley Business Barometer survey business leaders across the region exhibited their highest levels of confidence since the survey began, with 79% saying that their confidence in the economy had improved over the last quarter while only 4% felt that it had deteriorated. This is a significant change from the results we saw in the first quarter of 2013 when almost half of those who took part felt that the economy was flat and only a third believed that economic confidence had improved. Today, businesses appear to truly believe that the UK economy has turned a corner and over three quarters of those surveyed are preparing for robust growth in 2014.
Simon Brooker, partner and head of BDO in the Thames Valley
Eight out of 10 businesses say turnover has increased
These renewed levels of confidence can also be seen in the figures for pipeline, turnover, profit and headcount. 79% of respondents had seen an increase in turnover with most telling us that they expect this to continue into the first quarter of 2014. In the first quarter of 2013 only 65% reported an increase and in the last quarter of 2012 the figure was just 46%.
Headcount is increasing
Since the start of 2012 about 40% of businesses had consistently reported increasing the number of people they employ. In the latest survey this had risen to 49%, with slightly more stating that their headcount is likely to increase again next quarter. As the economy continues to recover, we would expect to see hiring intentions continue to rise with businesses becoming gradually more open to hiring new members of staff.
Availability of finance improves
This has been the first barometer report where we have seen businesses feeling positive about access to finance. 33% believed it had become easier; a dramatic increase from the start of 2013 when only 14% found the availability of finance easier and the end of 2012 when the figure was just 4%.
www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2014
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