SMEs help county climb the table

YORKSHIRE has risen from seventh to fourth place in the annual Barclays Business Regional Impact Index, which reveals which regions in the UK benefit most from the contributions of their small businesses and the role they are playing in boosting recovery across the country.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Oct 2011, 11:05 BST

The Barclays Business Regional Impact Index is based on a study of around 1,000 owner-managers, combined with qualitative analysis by Kingston University’s Small Business Research Centre. It ranks each region on 13 key indicators including outlook on growth, employment generation, and expected profit.

This year, the North East has moved three places to take the top spot from London.

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Yorkshire and Humberside obtains 55 per cent of its supplies from local and regional businesses, making a significant contribution to the regional economy and other businesses. Exporting is also prominent with 10 per cent of Yorkshire SME customers coming from overseas.

On average, 69 per cent of businesses in the region have brought new products or services to the firm or market over the last three years, putting it in joint first place with the North East. But these firms only spent 15.5 per cent of their income on innovation, putting them in eighth place, the index showed.

SMEs in Yorkshire (18 per cent) showed the highest increase in employment numbers over the past three years, and 29 per cent expected to increase their employment levels in 2012. James Cliffe, Barclays business divisional director, said it was encouraging to see there is still optimism in Yorkshire, with businesses introducing new products and services to help them prepare for the recovery.

Related topics:SMEsYorkshireNorth EastLondon