Firms’ concerns over global growth

The twice-yearly business report, which is now in its 23rd year, gathers the views of more than 1,500 UK businesses and tracks the overall “balance” of opinion. Over half of businesses in Yorkshire (60 per cent) said they expected their orders to increase during the first half of the year, while one in 20 anticipated a decline.

The resulting 55 per cent overall net balance represents a six point decrease from July 2014.

Leigh Taylor, the area director for SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) banking in the North East for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said today: “Although business confidence has slipped back, it is important to remember that the UK recovery remains on track.”