Faster decisions could unlock £780m a year for Yorkshire’s mid-market: Dan Sheahan

That is a significant strength. Mid-market firms are a key driver of regional growth, offering the scale to invest, create skilled jobs and support local supply chains while remaining closely connected to local communities.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, these businesses generate more than £101bn in annual turnover and support an estimated 464,000 jobs.

This mix of scale and agility should give Yorkshire an advantage. The question is how we turn more of that scale into stronger investment, higher productivity and better growth.

Much ink has been spilled on how uncertainty is weighing on growth, but less attention is paid to what that means inside businesses, where management teams are making calls on investment, hiring, pricing, refinancing and technology while the ground keeps shifting.

That was the thinking behind FRP’s recent Decision Economy report, which looked at how quickly firms make major decisions, what slows them down and what faster, better-informed action could mean for growth. The Yorkshire findings show both the strength of the region’s mid-market and the opportunity to improve how decisions are made. Only 27.7 per cent of Yorkshire and Humber leaders say their current decision-making speed is optimal, despite the region being home to the largest mid-market base in the country.

Part of the challenge is that decisions are being pulled in several directions at once. In Yorkshire and the Humber, energy costs are the most common factor influencing decisions, cited by 43 per cent of mid-market leaders, followed by technological innovation at 40 per cent , and Government policy announcements at 30 per cent .

Each of these pressures can force businesses to revisit plans that may have looked settled only months earlier. A manufacturer weighing up automation, a logistics firm reviewing fleet costs or a family-owned firm considering succession may all be responding to different circumstances, but they are often wrestling with the same problem of how to make timely decisions while the backdrop is still moving.

The barriers to effective decision-making are usually practical. 36 per cent of Yorkshire businesses cite the time required to gather information as a barrier to faster action, while 30 per cent point to competing priorities and the same proportion cite the time needed to appraise options. This points to the importance of information management for businesses and the need to implement clearer ownership and a more disciplined process for assessing options into the decision-making process.

For leaders already managing cost pressure, customer expectations and uncertainty around policy, it is easy to see how decisions can stretch – but while a delay of a few weeks may not feel significant in isolation, it can mean a major change of context in which a decision is made.

It also represents a huge opportunity. FRP’s research suggests faster decision-making could unlock around £780m in potential additional annual GVA across Yorkshire and the Humber.

The upcoming Budget will be an important moment for many of the region’s 8,000 mid-market businesses. It will shape expectations around tax, investment, costs and confidence, and many businesses will understandably want to understand detail before committing to major plans.

However, Yorkshire’s mid-market cannot afford to enter a holding pattern every time the policy backdrop shifts. The businesses best placed to grow will be those that can separate the decisions that need to wait from those that can still move forward.

That might mean reviewing funding options earlier, using clearer financial information to support pricing decisions, building more flexibility into supply chains or making sure technology investment is tied to a clear commercial outcome.

Good decision-making also depends on getting the basics right. Businesses need reliable data on costs, margins, demand and funding options, alongside clear ownership of decisions and a process that allows options to be assessed before conditions move again. Scenario planning and earlier advice can also help firms act while there is still time to shape the outcome.

There is also a role for policymakers and regional institutions. If Yorkshire and the Humber has the UK’s largest mid-market base, it should be a natural partner in national conversations about growth.

These firms sit between SMEs and major corporates, combining scale with local roots, and their decisions have a direct impact on communities across the region.

With devolution a key priority for the Labour Government, mayors, local authorities and business groups have an important role to play in bringing mid-market firms closer to policy discussions on investment, skills, infrastructure and productivity. That would help ensure policy is shaped with a clearer understanding of what firms need to keep moving.

Yorkshire’s advantage is that it is not starting from scratch. The region already has the scale, sector breadth and business culture to drive growth. The task now is to make sure its mid-market firms have the information and support to act at the right moment.

If they can do that, better and more timely decision-making can become a route to stronger investment, higher productivity and more growth across one of the UK’s most important regional economies.

Dan Sheahan is a partner at FRP Advisory