Wide welcome for predictions of region’s potential for boom

BUSINESS leaders and politicians from across Yorkshire and beyond have welcomed new research suggesting the region has greater potential for growth than any other part of the country.

A new study by Experian found Yorkshire had the highest proportion of companies with potential to be major exporters, in part owing to the heavy manufacturing industry still prevalent in the region.

Yorkshire also ranked second-highest for its proportion of what Experian calls “business champions” – small companies which it judges have the greatest potential for growth over the coming years.

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Mark Goldstone, head of policy at Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said it was “good to see our region mentioned positively”.

“Clearly the entrepreneurial spirit still exists in Yorkshire, and if we as a nation are to trade our way to growth then more start-ups and greater exports are going to be essential.”

Yorkshire’s economy has suffered badly since the 2008 crash, with unemployment soaring at a faster rate than many other parts of the UK.

But the new study makes clear that the potential is there for major growth and job creation in the region’s private sector.

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The report’s conclusions were warmly welcomed in the City, where the Lord Mayor of London David Wooton – a Yorkshireman – spoke of the large pool of talent on offer in the region.

“I am delighted Yorkshire has been recognised as being home to the highest concentration of firms with great economic potential,” he said.

“Yorkshire has a huge reservoir of skills and talent, as I saw first-hand during a business visit to my home town of Bradford in January. We in the City are keen to work with our partners throughout the UK.”

Conservative MP David Davis, who represents Haltemprice and Howden and lobbied hard against the loss of manufacturing jobs at BAE in Brough last year, said the research was “encouraging”.

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“Although headlines often seem discouraging, this research shows clearly that the region is leading the way in nurturing industries which produce much sought-after British manufacturing,” he added.

Comment: Page 10.