• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Wednesday April 17 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Business confidence improves in Thames Valley, says Chamber of Commerce

Confidence among Thames Valley businesses is improving, but the coming months will remain challenging for many companies, according to a major survey conducted by Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The business organisation polled hundreds of firms from the region in February and March, and the results of the Quarterly Economic Survey were published this week.

Among the findings were a quarter of respondents from the Chambers of Commerce in Swindon, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire saying that cashflow had decreased. However, 39 per cent had seen an increase in cashflow.

Almost half of respondents (43 per cent) said they expected to increase the price of their goods or services over the next three quarter. Only four per cent said they would be cutting prices.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of businesses said they were still experiencing difficulties in recruiting the right staff.

Just under half of respondents (46 per cent) reported that UK sales had increased, while the same number said domestic orders had increased.

For those involved in exporting goods and services, 35 per cent said overseas sales had remained constant, while 32 per cent reported an increase in orders.

When asked about staffing, 40 per cent said their workforce had increased over the period, while nearly the same – 35 per cent – reported a decrease in headcount.

Half of respondents said they expected their workforce to increase over the next quarter, while only seven per cent said they planned a decrease in headcount.

The cost of hiring and retaining staff is still having an impact on price pressures for Thames Valley businesses. Sixty-four per cent of respondents said labour costs were a factor, with 45 per cent citing utility costs and 40 per cent blaming the cost of raw materials.

Paul Britton, CEO of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce said: “Following the recent Budget, early signals were that the budget will be a step in the right direction to put SMEs in a “less bad” position, but with only 32 per cent of those surveyed indicating an increase in overseas orders, an export strategy to get business moving from the UK to new markets remains on our list of ‘asks’ for Government. “Business confidence is improving but the coming months will remain challenging for many companies with a quarter of respondents saying that cashflow had decreased. It is vital that the economy, SME’s and exporters are front and centre of the election campaign to come.”

Intelligence from the survey will be fed into the national Quarterly Business Survey from the British Chambers of Commerce – Britain’s biggest and longest-running private business survey.

The survey, a leading indicator, often picks up changes in the economy long before other surveys and official statistics and consistently mirrors trends in official data. It remains closely watched by both UK Government and the Bank of England.

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