14 bdo thames valley – business barometer
BDO Barometer rising fast, save for grey clouds over skills and export challenges
Optimism is now riding high in the Thames Valley with nine out of ten business leaders believing general levels of economic confidence have improved.
Guests at the BDO Thames Valley Business Barometer* survey results evening at Danesfield House near Marlow heard how business and economic confidence has reached a record high, up almost 60% since summer 2013.
Eight out of 10 business also reported increased turnover in the past year, with similar numbers anticipating further growth this year.
Seven out of 10 businesses expected their headcount to grow this year too. But, this may only fuel the ‘war on talent’ with demand for skilled staff already outstripping supply, particularly in manufacturing and construction, according BDO’s national Business Trends Survey,
Banks are now plainly stating they are ‘open for business’, but access to finance, can still be a challenge. Although 37% of BDO Barometer respondents now found funding was easier, 57% felt there had been no change.
The Thames Valley remains a heavily service- oriented region that is ‘locally’ focused. Currently, 94% of Barometer businesses sell to UK customers, with the EU being the favoured overseas market (47%). Despite growing commercial globalisation, most businesses (70%) did not expect to enter a new overseas market in the next 12 months.
Many viewed foreign cultures, regulations, standards, procedures and languages as barriers to new market entry, but the key concerns were lack of market knowledge and opportunities to build relationships with key influencers and decision makers.
“It is clear that a sustainable recovery will have to rely heavily on diversifying and re-balancing our region’s economy towards exports. Thames Valley companies have massive untapped potential to expand, but they need the right backing to help them compete globally and break into new markets,” said host Simon Brooker, partner and head of BDO Thames Valley.
Paula Elliott of C8 Consulting, which collaborates in producing the BDO Barometer, provided a detailed overview of the results, and stressed the need to retain skill levels In the Thames Valley.
“Right now we need to ensure that we don’t lose our entrepreneurs as a result of the ‘brain drain’ into London. . . . It is incredibly important
www.businessmag.co.uk measuring results business barometer
As simple as ABC?
The evening also honoured the Thames Valley’s ‘Most Admired’ company – the Ridgeway Motor Group – nominated by BDO Barometer survey respondents.
Ridgeway began as an Audi/VW dealer in Wantage but is now one of the top 20 motor retail groups in the UK with 1,200 staff across southern England.
Receiving the BDO Barometer Award, managing director John O’Hanlon admitted the confident company was “in a great place“, with a fine reputation, double-digit growth in new car sales and turnover up 26% last year to £600m.
Its growth has been based on staying ahead of the competition and the simple management mantra of ABC, explained O’Hanlon.
that schemes such as the new science park planned at the University of Reading go ahead.”
Simon Booker added: “It is important that the business community and local authorities work together to ensure that the region remains an attractive location for skilled people to work and live, and for ambitious businesses to thrive.“
Despite the blue skies and summer sunshine mood of the BDO Barometer findings, the outlook might still be changeable, noted guest speaker Tim Smith, business director of Thames Valley Berkshire LEP.
The uncertain future of Heathrow as the UK’s hub airport was still a grey cloud hovering over the region – its international and infrastructural role being crucial to the UK and its local west of London economies.
Much also rested on the LEP’s latest submission to the Government’s Local Growth Fund (LGF) for £48.3 million to underpin the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for the region.
This SEP submission phase concentrates heavily on improving transport and communication infrastructure, viewed by the LEP as the biggest single risk to the future economic contribution of the region’s 870,000 people and 42,000 businesses.
The level of funding achieved might affect the SEP delivery timescale, said Smith, but the important factor was that a strategic plan had been agreed among all Thames Valley Berkshire stakeholders, and there was commitment to achieving it.
The significant national economic importance of the region had been underlined, Smith added, by the SEP estimate that £11 of GVA will be generated for every £1 of LGF funding invested in the region.
John O'Hanlon with the BDO Barometer Award
A: Ambition – Improve through a clear strategy from ‘Good to Great’.
B: Brands – Build your own brand values and work with proven premium brand performers, whether automotive manufacturers or service suppliers. (“We find the best and stay with them”).
C: Clarity – For customers and employees (“We also ‘grow our own’ employees”).
* The Thames Valley BDO Business Barometer, which gathers views from more than 100 businesses, can be downloaded via the BDO website (
www.bdo.co.uk/news/thames-valley- business-barometer) or C8 Consulting website (
www.c8consulting.co.uk/twenties_club).
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2014
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