16 bdo thames valley – business barometer
A street-level view of business sentiment in the Thames Valley ...
... helping to inform decisions on growth, investment and employment in the region
"Over the past six months the indicators have continued to rise and we are now seeing early signs of barriers appearing – in particular a shortage of skilled labour"
Accountants and business consultants BDO LLP, in conjunction with marketing specialists C8 Consulting, have published the results of the sixth Thames Valley Business Barometer. Taken from a survey of the region’s business community, this twice yearly report provides a snapshot of business sentiment across the Thames Valley and has created a picture of emerging trends in the region.
The latest survey, which ran during April and May, included in-depth profiles of five Thames Valley businesses: CliniMed Holdings, Netdespatch, Quantel, Hitachi Capital Car Solutions and Coffey International, and a roundtable discussion of the results by members of the Barometer panel.
Business confidence remains at a record high
The Thames Valley Business Barometer has recorded a further, impressive rise in levels of confidence across the region, demonstrating how the mood of the business community in the Thames Valley has become significantly more buoyant. As economic conditions have strengthened, confidence among Thames Valley businesses has risen dramatically. In our latest survey, 90% of business leaders felt that confidence in the economy had improved compared to 79% in December 2013 and just 31% this time last year. That’s a staggering rise of almost 60% over the last year.
Simon Brooker, partner and head of BDO in the Thames Valley
measuring results
business barometer
Eight out of 10 businesses say turnover has increased
These renewed levels of confidence can also be seen in other performance figures. 82% of respondents had seen an increase in turnover with 86% telling us that they expect this to continue. This time last year only 65% reported an increase and at the end 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. By the end of 2013 this had risen to just under 50% and now the figure stands at 61% with seven out of 10 businesses surveyed indicating that they expect headcount to increase over the next six months. This shows that businesses are turning their confidence into action and is good news for the local labour market. However, it will inevitably put pressure on the ever increasing ‘war on talent’, as demand for skilled staff outstrips supply – a picture, according to BDO’s national Business Trends Survey, that is already emerging in sectors such as manufacturing and construction.
Availability of finance improves
Last December’s barometer report was the first in which we had seen businesses feeling more positive about access to finance. 33% believed it had become easier; a dramatic increase from the start of 2013 when the figure was only 14%. In the latest survey the figures have remained static with just over a third of respondents believing that access to finance had become easier over the past six months while half felt it had remained the same. During our roundtable discussion of the survey results representatives of the banks on our Barometer panel confirmed that they are definitely open for business and that it is a key priority for them to lend to businesses.
www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2014
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