• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Tuesday June 10 2025

South West businesses ‘among most upbeat in UK’ in May

Businesses in the South West were among the most upbeat of all 12 UK regions and nations when assessing their one-year outlook for output, according to the latest NatWest Growth Tracker.

Business output continued to grow for the fifth month in a row, but at a softer rate than in previous months, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, costs continued to increase with the region experiencing the steepest increase of all 12 regions.

Despite this, optimism among business owners in the region remained high, with the overall degree of positive sentiment was the highest since last October and stronger than the UK-wide average.

Faye Long, chair of Natwest’s South West Regional Board, said: “The latest growth tracker showed a further increase in business activity across the South West during May, with the region continuing to perform strongly compared to most other areas across the UK.

“However, ongoing uncertainty over US trade tariffs and the wider global economic climate continued to impact demand. Notably, firms saw sales weaken for the second month in a row.

“Combined with sharply rising costs, businesses trimmed their staff numbers again to help reduce expenses and adjust capacity in line with current customer demand. Moreover, the South West saw the steepest increase in costs of all 12 UK regions and nations in May.

“Despite the challenging conditions firms currently face, it was encouraging to see that businesses were able to look ahead with greater optimism. In fact, firms in the South West were among the most upbeat of all 12 UK regions and nations when assessing the one-year outlook for output.

“Opportunities for growth were linked to forecasts of stronger economic conditions and greater confidence among clients to commit to new projects.

“New product launches and greater investment are also expected to drive increases in activity over the next year.”